Terms and Conditions

Once a translation has been done, the customer has the right to decide whether or not to accept it. Upon acceptance, all liability for the use of the translation is assumed by the customer. Top priority is given to customer satisfaction. If the customer is not satisfied with a translation, the translation should be returned unused. In this case, no fee will be charged.

Prices

If the original document is in machine-readable form, prices are usually calculated based on the number of words in the original document. For instance, in the case of a Word document, this is taken to be the number as counted by the Word software. For the customer, the advantage of pricing based on the original document is that the exact price of the translation can be calculated in advance. Also, there are generally fewer words in a German original than in a corresponding English translation. For the convenience of customers, payment may be made using any convertible currency. In order to save on money transfer charges, payments may be made to bank accounts in Canada, Germany, Austria or Switzerland. Payment is due within 30 days after delivery of the translation.

Quality

The process of translating a document can be divided into three steps: 1. Examining the whole document, using reference materials to check the translations of words which may present difficulties. 2. Translating the document into English, paying close attention to the exact meaning of the original. 3. Editing the translation so that it is clear and easy to understand, and at the same time making sure that it is written in a style which is the English equivalent of the style of the original. It is Step 3 which makes the difference between a high-quality translation and a mediocre one. In fact, a translation should be so well-written that no one can guess it is a translation. However, editing and polishing a translation takes time. This is why a rush job is not likely to result in a high-quality translation. Customers interested in quality should keep in mind that they need to schedule enough time not only for the translation itself, but also for research, editing and proofreading.

Additional Material

The customer can often improve the speed and accuracy of a translation by providing additional material such as diagrams, references and related documents. The provision of such material reduces the amount of time required for doing research, and makes it easier to check the accuracy of the terminology used in the translation.