DTP - does it pay? Thread poster: Jose Ruivo
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Jose Ruivo 
Portugal
Local time: 00:49
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
Hi All,
for those of you who provide DTP services, do you think it pays to do that, as a freelancer?
How is DTP work normally paid - by the page?? How much do you normally get paid for DTP?
Thanks a lot,
Jose
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When it doesn't pay, I don't do that.
I am a freelancer—I make decision to do or not to do.
And when it doesn't pay… you know what my decision is.
| | | | | | Yolanda Broad
United States
Local time: 19:49
Member (2000)
French to English
+ ...
MODERATOR | DTP = desktop publishing | Jan 17, 2010 |
DTP = desktop publishing
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| Only if you know what you're doing. | Jan 18, 2010 |
If you are confident working in a DTP program and understand the various typographical and layout issues that localisation adds - the answer is yes.
However, if don't have a genuine interest in design and layout, I doubt that taking the time to really learn an advanced program such as InDesign would be a good investment.
| | | | Speranza
Local time: 01:49
Spanish to Russian
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| What are your alternatives? | Jan 18, 2010 |
Are you better off, financially and otherwise, doing DTP than dedicating that time to other activities? If you are, it pays; if you are not, it doesn't.
(Edited to fix a typo.)
[Edited at 2010-01-18 02:02 GMT]
| | | | | Depends on what your customer expects | Jan 18, 2010 |
First of all, I entirely agree with Madeleine: you should only offer DTP for your translations if you really know how to use the tools properly. If you only try, you will end up losing precious translation time and damaging your translation business. I wonder whether you are asking this because that is the situation you have been in the past, i.e. losing a lot of time for lack of knowledge of the DTP environment required.
To me, this also very much depends on what your customer requ... See more First of all, I entirely agree with Madeleine: you should only offer DTP for your translations if you really know how to use the tools properly. If you only try, you will end up losing precious translation time and damaging your translation business. I wonder whether you are asking this because that is the situation you have been in the past, i.e. losing a lot of time for lack of knowledge of the DTP environment required.
To me, this also very much depends on what your customer requires. If offering DTP will make you attractive to the kind of high-pay customer you look for, then you should prepare to offer DTP by choosing the right tools and doing proper courses about it. If DTP is only a nuisance for you that does not increase your rate to a good level and not necessarily brings in more interesting customes, then you should probably discontinue offering it.
Edited to add this: In my case I am lucky because I offer DTP to most of my customers and have a colleague in the office who does DTP for the team of 3 people. We charge DTP by the hour, as sometimes you can do it very quickly and would be unfair to charge too much but other times it gets really tricky and you need to have your time compensated.
[Edited at 2010-01-18 06:52 GMT] ▲ Collapse
| | | | Brandis (X)
Local time: 01:49
English to German
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| not much considered | Jan 18, 2010 |
H! DTP is not much considered in translation area. Most customers come with their own design and demand finishing using trados. But DTP as a stand alone service may pay off, nothing related to translation business. Best regards, Brandis
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Jose Ruivo
Portugal
Local time: 00:49
Member (2007)
English to Portuguese
+ ...
TOPIC STARTER
Tomás Cano Binder, CT wrote:
To me, this also very much depends on what your customer requires. If offering DTP will make you attractive to the kind of high-pay customer you look for, then you should prepare to offer DTP by choosing the right tools and doing proper courses about it. If DTP is only a nuisance for you that does not increase your rate to a good level and not necessarily brings in more interesting customes, then you should probably discontinue offering it.
Edited to add this: In my case I am lucky because I offer DTP to most of my customers and have a colleague in the office who does DTP for the team of 3 people. We charge DTP by the hour, as sometimes you can do it very quickly and would be unfair to charge too much but other times it gets really tricky and you need to have your time compensated.
[Edited at 2010-01-18 06:52 GMT]
Your lucky to have someone doing it for you!
I see DTP as a way of improving the value of the solutions I offer (and make more money, of course). Both for translation agencies and specially to direct clients - your translation product may be very good and have the right price, but if your client is looking for a solution that also includes DTP, you may ending up not selling you main product
How does the price per hour that your colleague charge for DTP compare to what you'd charge for translation?
Thanks,
Jose
| | | | | More money translating than DTPing | Jan 18, 2010 |
Jose Ruivo wrote:
How does the price per hour that your colleague charge for DTP compare to what you'd charge for translation?
We clearly make more money per hour translating than DTPing, so it is indeed great that I have help in that area.
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