Category: Desktop Publishing

The emergence of typesetting goes way back to an era where we could barely think of human civilizations. But let’s not get into history now because that’s not what we are here for! However, the most important aspect we need to come to terms with is that typography is as significant and influential in the digital age as it was back then. With the digital technology we have today, it is easier to access to professional typesetting services!

Once upon a time, people depended solely on physical books and other tangible materials, but now everything has gone digital with desktop publishing (DTP). Nevertheless, we still give emphasis on professional typesetting services because certain things never change and will never!

Have you ever stopped reading a book or any other written material not because the content was boring, but due to a poor layout or a hardly readable or ugly text? Well, that’s what we are gonna talk about at length here. But before we get into that you need to know what typesetting is.

“Typesetting is all about incorporating text on a page”. It is not as simple as it may sound with this one line. However, it is a process that needs to be meticulously looked into so that the whole text is readable and doesn’t give a headache to the readers. 

When not done right, typesetting can look really cheap, substandard, and mortally horrible even on desktop publishing (DTP). Even a layman can point out the mistakes of unprofessional typesetting and that’s why you cannot afford to make mistakes.

Let’s check out some common consequences of professional typesetting services gone bad.

1. Major Crises in Fonts

Fonts play the most significant role in typesetting. When the texts are not set properly in a font that’s not intelligible, the entire essence of good typesetting is lost. When the font is not readable and when it does not possess all the characters of the language, the entire readability of the content is gone down the drain and it becomes a miserable output. 

Multiple languages have different writing styles. For example – In the Hindi script, there is a line that goes above every word, when the typesetting misses out on that the content can no longer be deemed as Hindi. 

Also, one of the major consequences is that most of the typesetters forget the fact that MS Word displays content thoroughly without any errors, but when the same file is put on other video editing software the font gets corrupted and the uniformity is lost. Ultimately, the corrupted font gets printed which results in a major mishap! This is quite common in desktop publishing (dtp).

2. Poor Spacing and Line Breaks

Ahh!! This is one terrible mistake that happens most of the time. 

Before going ahead with multiple language typesetting, many typesetters do not understand that the spacing between words differs for every language. 

In the language Thai, spaces are not used to identify when one word ends and the other begins. So if the typesetter puts spacing between every word, it will be blunderous! The same rule is applicable to Chinese, Japanese, and other languages as well. So it is very much essential to know where to break the line and give the right spacing before you head to the next paragraph. 

 

3. Horrible Margins

When the margins are not in the right manner, it is such an eyesore. We are sure most of the people would toss aside the book with horrible margins and carry on with what looks more exciting than it. 

Margins are the white space around the content on a page. It gives our eyes more freedom to move between words in a relaxed manner. When it is lost, letters look all clung together and we are unable to move to the next line without any strain. 

 

4. Terrible Alignment 

Some typesetters believe all the languages in the world to follow the same rules and norms of English. This is a common error seen in desktop publishing.  But that isn’t the case! 

There are several examples to quote. Chinese needs to be justified on both ends and Arabic is written from right to left. So when content is translated to Arabic even the logos and designs of the matter need to be properly aligned from right to left. The logo cannot be left anywhere in the middle or left. 

So these are real cases that need to be looked into. If not, the output is going to be depressing. 

 

5. Punctuations Used Wrongly

As a rule of thumb, always follow the grammar!

Since the English language has been the main source of communication around the world, everyone believes the punctuations used in every language are also the same. But that’s not the case. Certain languages DO NOT have punctuations at all. Is it surprising?

Languages such as Urdu and Arabic do not use punctuations at all. They do not have hyphens, commas, etc. In the Greek language, a semicolon is used as a question mark. There are many materials where commas are used in Arabic and question marks are used in the Greek language. So know that if you don’t get the facts right, you are making a grave mistake. 

 

6. Incomprehensible Paragraph Structure

Would anyone like to read an essay without any paragraphs? Ah! That’s foolishness at its peak and we were surprised to see such content on some sites. At times there are even inconsistent headings where the reader is totally unable to make the head and tail of what it is.  

It is so mandatory to neatly paragraph the whole content with headings and subheadings. As a rule of thumb, never ever ignore the importance of heading 1 and heading 2 in the digital world. When you neglect this, it is really difficult for the reader to comprehend what is being conveyed and the essence of the writing is lost. 

 

7. Trim Size Being Neglected

Not many know trim size’s enormous importance in typesetting! It is the dimensions of a page when it is cut down to a readable size before it goes for binding. 

There are plenty of books that have made the terrible mistake of not paying heed to the trim size. As a result, one-fourth of the page gets trimmed and omitted. Finally, the book looks awkward and unable to read. 

Tip – Trim size is always measured in inches. Always follow a standard trim size for books and never go for anything which is smaller than 5 * 8.

 

To Conclude

These aforementioned 7 terrible mistakes in professional typesetting services rendered by many and it has to be pointed out to prevent any such distortions and mistakes in the future. By paying heed to these mistakes and rectifying it, professional typesetting will never lose its value and demand. 

 

If you want to increase your customer conversions through visual and content marketing, then multilingual typesetting is the key. Typesetters help you produce aesthetically pleasing business collaterals and with multilingual typesetting, you can customize quality website, brochures, user guides, marketing flyers, and multimedia and slide presentations to reach your global target audience effectively.

However, converting text or existing graphics into an aesthetically magnificent design to increase conversions is not always straightforward. You need to be good at translating different texts and graphics into multilingual languages.

But, how will you achieve your visual marketing goals when you only speak one language?

If you don’t have multilingual typesetting designers in your organization, you can always outsource the service from a reputable agency in your locality.

Without further ado, our guide below will take you through what multilingual typesetting entails. It also outlines various ways you can use to find a reliable typesetting agency.

 

What Is Multilingual Typesetting?

Multilingual typesetting involves placing and converting a translated text into a graphic or a design program like InDesign. Though seemingly a simple process, multilingual typesetting is more involving than you may think. To become a typesetting pro, you must understand the rules and peculiarities that must be met so that the graphics or the publications can be read naturally.

Typically, the process of multilingual typesetting involves translating the text into the desired languages, typesetting the translated text and finally producing the output.

In a broader sense, the term multilingual typesetting may simply imply producing documents, banners, product guides and other publications that combine texts with images in diverse languages.

Typesetters generate publications using programs like:

• Indesign when doing multiple publications
• Illustrator for doing single page materials
• Photoshop for graphic-dominated and angle page images

Typesetting designers may also apply the QuarkExpress program to meet various typesetting needs.

 

Why Do You Need Typesetters In Your Every Step?

The typesetting job is not a joke. You need to typesetting experts at every step of the process because:

Expert Translators Will Ensure Accuracy

Having your typesetting project done by typesetting professionals will ensure that your foreign language commercial texts align with your goals. In other words, they will ensure that your translations are done accurately and that they meet your bespoke typesetting intentions.

Professional Typesetters Are More Effective

They will use their expertise to proofread the foreign texts to ensure their clarity and precision. As such, your target audience from different cultures would be able to understand your message effectively. After all, customers would convert to you depending on how well you can reach them out.

Expert Typesetters Will Ensure Quality Output

The experienced typesetters will carefully analyze the publications against your specifications to ensure adherence to your every detail.

 

When Should You Look For A Professional Typesetting Designer?

 

As mentioned earlier, the typesetting designers help create business publications and graphics, which aid in visual advertising both physically. You need to order for their services when:

• Your typesetting personnel is not familiar with the technicalities of a particular typesetting project like formatting and translating the text into some languages, etc
• Need to reach out to your target audience effectively by hiring a competent agency.
• You don’t know how to use different typesetting programs effectively.
• You have an urgent project that needs a quick and accurate execution
• Need quality multilingual typesetting results

You may also need a typesetting professional when your typesetting personnel doesn’t have quality typesetting equipment.

 

Who Can Make A Good Typesetting Designer?

What do you look for when choosing a typesetting designer? Choosing a typesetting designer can be overwhelming, given the numerous designers in the market. Make sure you avoid mistakes commonly made by typesetters.

If you need a designer to help with your typesetting needs, you should select the one who is:

Experienced

Multilingual typesetting involves translating diverse languages, converting the text into graphics or publications, and producing the output. To succeed in every step, you need a typesetting designer who has spent years in the field to avoid errors.

You can judge the experience of your typesetting prospects by asking for their certifications or checking what customers are saying about them on their websites or social media pages.

Flexible

As repeatedly mentioned, multilingual typesetting involves designing publications and graphics in diverse languages. With that in mind, you should select a designer who can do varied tasks in different languages while maintaining quality.

Selecting a flexible designer will help you cut the cost of hiring several designers. It will also be easier to manage a single designer than several of them.

Affordable

In the case where most of your prospective designers are all qualified, flexible and reliable, you should go for the one who is willing to offer their services at an affordable price. After all, you are after making profits, and one way of doing it is minimizing costs.

 

Where Can You Find A Multilingual Typesetting Designer?

There are various sources where you can find a reputable typesetting designer. Examples of these sources include:

Asking Friends And Relatives

If you have friends who have used typesetting services before, they can refer you to a typesetting designer or an agency where you can secure a reliable designer.

Online Sites

Most typesetting designers and agencies are marketing their services online. To land a good designer online, you need to check the experience of their past customers by checking their customer reviews on their social media pages and websites.  If their negative reviews exceed the positive, that could be a clear sign of poor typesetting services.

Kindly note: typesetting agencies have absorbed the most reliable typesetting designers in the market. And, you can only find a great designer from an agency. That takes us to the following question:

 

How Can You Find A Typesetting Agency In The Market?

Below are the various steps you need to follow to find a reliable typesetting agency:

Understand Your Typesetting Needs?

What kind of publications do you need? Why do you need it? Why do you need the services of a typesetting agency? Finding answers to some of these questions will help you express yourself well to your selected agency.

Find A Reputable Agency

The next step is to find a reliable agency to offer you the service. You will need the information in the step above to explain your typesetting requirements to the agency. This will help the agency to know what kind of designer to deploy for your project.

To land a reliable agency, you need to shortlist the agencies you think can meet your typesetting standards then choose the one who can:

• Prove how they will reduce the complexity of the project
• Translate the project in all required languages
• Have expertise in translating in all languages
• Deal and coordinate with your designers smoothly
• Offer their services at a relatively lower price
• Have high-quality typesetting equipment

 

Conclusion

If correctly done, Multilingual typesetting can help you achieve your visual marketing needs effectively. To get the most out of it, you need to hire the services of a reliable typesetting individual or agency to help you with your needs. We have outlined the various ways in which you can secure a typesetting agency. Read through the article and apply the suggested tips for your benefit.