5 Tips for Hiring a Multilingual Desktop Publishing Services Company
Desktop publishing services consist of a variety of activities involved with the creation of specific types of documents, generally accomplished using a page layout software. It was originally used for printed publications primarily, but those capabilities have now extended to include the creation of many different types of online content as well.
As you might think, desktop publisher software provides the capability for a person to generate layouts and produce high-quality text and images which are comparable in quality and precision to traditional printing and typography.
Digital publisher has become popular because it allows both businesses and individuals to self-publish a great many types of content without having to incur the traditional expense normally involved with commercial printing services.
What are Desktop Publishing Services?
The methods used in digital publishing provide far greater control over the design, layout, and typography than any kind of word processing software would typically provide.
Some of the typical services included in digital publishing would be multi-lingual support, formatting, layout, file conversion, image or graphical editing, post translation brush-up, and publication of content to various kinds of formats.
Some of these formats might include InDesign, FrameMaker, Illustrator, Microsoft Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher, with these being some of the most popular end-formats. Digital publisher services are generally provided by third-party vendors who specialize in assisting users, allowing them to have their content formatted in a variety of ways.
At that point, the content is then ready for publication to whatever the final format would be.
The History of Desktop Publishing
The origins of desktop publishing came about in the late 1970’s with the introduction of TeX, and was enhanced in 1985 when LaTeX was unveiled. It was at this time that the market for digital publishing really blossomed, and corresponded with the introduction of the LaserWriter printer by Apple.
Soon afterward, the PageMaker software was marketed by Aldus, and they quickly became the standard software application for all digital publishers.
PageMaker had advanced layout features that were well beyond the capabilities of any existing word processors at the time. The term digital publishing itself was coined by the founder of Aldus, who was seeking a phrase that conveyed the notion of its affordability and powerful capabilities for publishers.
In the late 1980s, Ventura Publisher found a way to automate the entire layout process by using tags and stylesheets, making it ideal for creating manuals and other documents that are long-format in nature.
By the time 2014 rolled around, Apple computers had become dominant in the desktop publishing world, and the most popular publishing software had moved on from QuarkXPress to Adobe InDesign. At this time, a number of other software companies had also become heavily involved in the digital publishing arena, and Microsoft started offering its own software as part of its suite of business office tools, known as Microsoft Publisher.
Nowadays, anyone who is able to master the capabilities provided by a modern-day digital publisher software can produce some professional high-quality content, either for printing format or for online publishing.
What to Look for When Hiring Multilingual Desktop Publishing Service
Because there are now so many digital publisher services on the market, users who are seeking to purchase their own desktop publisher software, or who are seeking to hire professional services from a third party, must be aware of what they’re getting.
#1 Multilingual Support
The first thing to look for in any respectable digital publisher service is support for multilingual capabilities. Even if you don’t think that you are going to have content published in any language other than English, there are bound to be some circumstances that will arise that would necessitate a multilingual publication.
This is almost certain to be true for any professional applications since published content will have a much broader audience when multiple languages can be generated for readership.
#2 Accuracy
A high rate of accuracy is another necessary quality of any translation editing and proofreading service because you can’t afford to have mistakes appear in your published content.
This will undoubtedly damage your credibility, and it may cause readers to abandon the content altogether.
#3 Experience
This leads to another highly desirable quality from a third party vendor, which is, experience in the industry.
Any service which has had many years of experience in the market already is more likely to be reliable and trustworthy and will be aware of all the deeper nuances of desktop publishing.
#4 Customer Support
Customer support is another major quality which you would want from any digital service because if any problems do arise with your content being published, you would want them resolved in a timely fashion.
Whenever there are any issues you encounter with your content, you will want to know that you can have instant access to support personnel who can help you resolve your issue in an expedient and professional manner.
#5 Cost Effectiveness
Finally, you will want to find a service that is cost-effective for your operation, and which does not exceed your budget. There are some fairly bloated operations providing electronic publication these days which charge exorbitant rates but do not offer value commensurate with those rates.
It will be to your advantage to shop around and do some comparison pricing so that you end up with a service which provides real value when compared to what they are charging.
Investing in your Desktop Publishing
One way you can be sure that you’re getting maximum value for your investment in a digital service is to associate yourself with Etcetera Language Group, Inc. Etcetera uses state-of-the-art technology to prepare visually appealing, highly professional products which will feature optimal layouts containing all the visual and text elements of your content – all at the most affordable price possible.
Headquartered in Washington DC, Etcetera Language Group, Inc. has earned the respect and admiration of peer companies in the business, as well as the gratitude of a great many users who have availed themselves of Etcetera’s outstanding digital publisher and document translation services.
Contact us today to discuss the publication of your content, regardless of its size, so that it can be prepared in the most accurate and visually appealing manner possible.
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