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There are over 50 million Polish speakers around the world, and it ranks as the sixth most-spoken language of the European Union. Dutch is spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language.
Multiple-page, quick-turnaround projects come with their own unique set of challenges.
- We received a rush DTP project into Polish and Dutch of 319 and 187 pages respectively, to be provided within 7 days. No extensions were permitted due to the client's unique requirements, and because there were so many pages in this assignment, additional care had to be used in the DTP.
- When a project has a short deadline, the pressures of time constraints put additional strain on the DTP experts, increasing the likelihood of mistakes.
- Due to the nature of these languages, lines of text become longer in Dutch and Polish, so we had to increase the text frames while maintaining the frame alignment on each page. We also had to reduce the font size accordingly.
- As the text frames got bigger in the converted application file, the remaining space on the pages got smaller, so we had to proportionally reduce the size of some images.
- The longer text in tables got hidden, so we needed to increase column widths, and reduce cell spacing and internal margins.
- Some spacing and extra text became merged in the Dutch and Polish file, which had to be checked after confirming with the client.
- We had to ensure that all procedures were carefully followed: non-compliance with quality processes can lead to all kinds of problems.
- The requirement of the project was to use professional DTP experts with good knowledge of the DTP task requirements. This presented challenges not only in terms of recruiting the right DTP experts with a suitable profile, but also ensuring that quality would be maintained. There were many instructions to be followed by the DTP experts.
- Quality assurance (QA) is an important aspect of the DTP process since it ensures that the translated text is kept as requested, and fulfills the appropriate quality standards. QA for multiple-page projects can be time-consuming and challenging, particularly when meeting deadlines.
- A robust technological infrastructure would be necessary to work on this project. To make sure that all guidelines are followed and consistency is upheld, a proper QA plan had to be implemented.
Before the project began, we set about making a plan. We did the following:
- Before the project started, a kick-off meeting was conducted.
- We employed resources who were knowledgeable with the target markets and adept at this type of EU DTP task. We looked over the DTP experts’ former work reviews and resumes. For this assignment, we used a qualified DTP team.
- We gave the DTP team the guidelines and instructions that they must adhere to while working on the project.
- Since we wanted to receive regular updates, we implemented a progress tracking method for improved visibility and control of the project.
- Managing several files across a DTP project is difficult. Our team created a well-organized plan that included information on the files, the DTP expert’s name, and anticipated completion dates for each file. We were able to see the work's progress more clearly with regular tracking, which helped us avoid any delay by acting quickly to fix any issues during the live task.
- InDesign was used for this project to ensure consistency, and QA issues were resolved before files were sent.
We successfully finished this difficult project within the allotted limited time and to a high standard.
- The client appreciated the rapid turnaround we offered without compromising quality.
- We continuously followed all of the advice given.
- The client will be pleased to share such DTP projects with us in the future, as they may get more DTP projects from their end customer after this project submission.
We are confident in our ability to complete such substantial projects on short notice in the future.
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