Usually customers will ask for a translation quote or estimate from vendors. Vendors give the quote and customers decide to accept or deny them. Quotes vary in many ways from format to currency. This article aims to provide a way to calculate your Dutch translation price and which means of quoting is more effective, by word or page. It is to be noted that these are not the only means of quoting translations.
How to calculate your Dutch translation price
Calculating your Dutch translation price involves several factors to ensure you receive high-quality and accurate translations tailored to your specific needs. Start by determining the type of translation required, whether it’s professional, standard, or certified translation, and consider the expertise needed, such as medical or business translations. Assess the complexity of the content, such as medical reports or financial documents, as this can impact the translation cost.
Additionally, take into account the target audience and any specific cultural nuances relevant to Dutch speakers in South Africa or elsewhere. Factor in the competitive rates offered by translation service providers, including expert freelance translators or translation agencies, while ensuring timely delivery. Finally, request accurate quotes from multiple vendors to compare prices and services, ensuring you receive affordable prices without compromising on quality for your Dutch document translation or Dutch website translation needs.
Page count
Page count can be categorized in two ways through the number of characters: excluding and including spaces. For example, a person can receive a quote for a translation: 1000 characters without spaces and 1800 characters with spaces.
Including spaces in one’s quote should be discouraged since it does not require effort with regards to translating. It is also quite common for some to include unnecessary spaces in one’s translation, further increasing the quote. This leads us to the question, is it fairer to send a quote without regard for spaces? It all depends on the number of characters in the page.
Word count
Word count is the opposite of page count. Thus, it is free from its disadvantages:
- Spaces aren’t paid for.
- Non-translatable characters such as commas and periods aren’t paid for.
- Payment is not set due to rounding since quote is based on words.
Furthermore, word count has many advantages:
- Lower rates for repetitions
- More translation consistent per project
- Better quality due to faster retrieval of previous works
- Less turnaround time
- Vendors are easier to replace since previous works are more accessible
Ergo, choosing word count can give many advantages that page count does not possess.
Here at DutchTrans we base our quotes on word count as it is more advantageous for our clients. If you need to find out our Dutch translation price feel free to contact us at any time. We’ve also created a special page where you can get a free translation quote in 5 minutes.
Why do translation vendors still offer page count?
Page count is still being used as means for pricing though, for the following reasons:
- People are attached to tradition methods of calculating translation. Oftentimes, they have not adopted newer computer based methods, which makes it difficult to give effective estimates.
- It is much easier to count characters and pages. There is no need to use expensive software, and training of employees is lessened. Furthermore, page count is easier to account for by the client, since they may view it anytime.
- It is more profitable for translators to engage in page count, since they can charge more and omit discounts from repetitions and matches.