How do you translate images or non-editable pdfs?
Thread poster: Ankita Arora
Ankita Arora
Ankita Arora
India
Nov 30, 2018

When you do not have the source or a base image and have the requirement to re-create the image in different languages, What is the standard process you follow?

If there is a tool, that makes this process quick and easy, Will you be interested to try it out?


 
Jo Macdonald
Jo Macdonald  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 17:43
Member (2005)
Italian to English
+ ...
Abbyy Finereader Nov 30, 2018

Hi Ankita
I do quite a few translations from pdfs or scans and Abbyy Finereader 12 does a really good job of converting pdfs or images into a workable Word file. You might have to refine your page-layout skills in Word a bit and if the original is really bad it's probably quicker to create a new Word doc and type the text in from scratch.
I charge a 10-30% supplement for such jobs for the extra page-layout work, depending on the quality of the original.
Studio also has a half d
... See more
Hi Ankita
I do quite a few translations from pdfs or scans and Abbyy Finereader 12 does a really good job of converting pdfs or images into a workable Word file. You might have to refine your page-layout skills in Word a bit and if the original is really bad it's probably quicker to create a new Word doc and type the text in from scratch.
I charge a 10-30% supplement for such jobs for the extra page-layout work, depending on the quality of the original.
Studio also has a half decent filter for importing pdfs but you'll get best results with a good quality pdf that was probably a Word doc saved as a pdf.
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Merab Dekano
Rebecca Cockburn
 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
not a big secret Nov 30, 2018

1. Ask the client for an editable.

2. If rather complicated, (re)negotiate or reject the job/task/part.

3. Meanwhile--
3.1. If the chart/image is quite simple, try to OCR it (say, in FIneReader);
3.2. If the graphics is bizarre, just export/PrintScreen it as an image, processing manually;
3.3. If the gfx original quality is poor, it's often about matching/recreating the charts/images, so notice the client--charging extra, if agreed.

4. Ask
... See more
1. Ask the client for an editable.

2. If rather complicated, (re)negotiate or reject the job/task/part.

3. Meanwhile--
3.1. If the chart/image is quite simple, try to OCR it (say, in FIneReader);
3.2. If the graphics is bizarre, just export/PrintScreen it as an image, processing manually;
3.3. If the gfx original quality is poor, it's often about matching/recreating the charts/images, so notice the client--charging extra, if agreed.

4. Ask a specialist.

5. Cry...
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Ankita Arora
Ankita Arora
India
TOPIC STARTER
product feedback Nov 30, 2018

Thanks Jo, I will checkout ABBYY Finereader.

I am particularly asking this to gather some feedback for a product that we are building to translate images. Will accommodate pdf format also soon, right now you can convert pdf to image and translate and regenerate the translated image.
If you can, please try it out at imgtranslate.com and share some feedback on how you find it compared to other tools you have been using. Does it make the process simpler?


 
Samuel Murray
Samuel Murray  Identity Verified
Netherlands
Local time: 17:43
Member (2006)
English to Afrikaans
+ ...
@Ankita Nov 30, 2018

Ankita Arora wrote:
When you do not have the source or a base image and have the requirement to re-create the image in different languages, what is the standard process you follow?


I leave it up to the client to create the image. I provide the translation in a format (usually an MS Word table) that makes it clear to the client's own DTP person what text should go where.

If you really had to create the image yourself, you could try using Canva:
https://www.canva.com/
It is an online DTP tool that is supposedly quite easy to learn how to use, and you can download the images in a resolution that would be better than if you had simply taken a screenshot.


Laurent Mercky
Laura Kingdon
 
Christine Andersen
Christine Andersen  Identity Verified
Denmark
Local time: 17:43
Member (2003)
Danish to English
+ ...
Word document Nov 30, 2018

I do occasionally get certificates of various kinds that only exist as hard copy and non-editable scans.

Often the number of words is small, so I set up a table in Word to place the text in positions that correspond approximately to the original. I adjust the size of the print, but otherwise leave formatting and DTP work to the client.

I only work with the English alphabet and the three extra Danish vowels (Æ, Ø, Å), but those are not always picked up correctly by OC
... See more
I do occasionally get certificates of various kinds that only exist as hard copy and non-editable scans.

Often the number of words is small, so I set up a table in Word to place the text in positions that correspond approximately to the original. I adjust the size of the print, but otherwise leave formatting and DTP work to the client.

I only work with the English alphabet and the three extra Danish vowels (Æ, Ø, Å), but those are not always picked up correctly by OCR tools, and making an editable copy of the original may be more trouble than it is worth.

On one occasion the client typed a couple of thousand words of text for me - quite impressively, as she could not understand it!

If you are working with different scripts, you may have to look for a tool that is designed for those specific scripts.
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Daniel Frisano
Daniel Frisano  Identity Verified
Italy
Local time: 17:43
Member (2008)
English to Italian
+ ...
Not biting Nov 30, 2018

Ankita Arora wrote:

If you can, please try it out at imgtranslate.com and share some feedback...



They're not buying it. They are actually answering to your original question, which you obviously don't need, since you are just trying to sell your product.

Oh, by the way, the Spanish translation on your website is wrong (subjunctive needed). Also, fonts don't match.


 
Ankita Arora
Ankita Arora
India
TOPIC STARTER
want to understand the problem before solving it Dec 1, 2018

Daniel Frisano wrote:

They're not buying it. They are actually answering to your original question, which you obviously don't need, since you are just trying to sell your product.


@Daniel
I am not trying to sell it, but genuinely wanted to understand the complex process translators go through to fulfil the request of translating images etc. As we are trying to solve this problem, we need to understand from the actual users the current process and are they willing to switch if an easy tool is built for them.
That's why I didn't include the product in the original question. At my previous job, where we were providing translation services, we did get lot of these requests and didn't find any simple process to do it.


Oh, by the way, the Spanish translation on your website is wrong (subjunctive needed). Also, fonts don't match.

Thank you for your feedback, we will check it.


 
Adam Warren
Adam Warren  Identity Verified
France
Local time: 17:43
Member (2005)
French to English
I use Nuance Power PDF Dec 2, 2018

for converting PDFs to Word. The output document should be inspected and may need editing. The conversion parameters may need adjusting to get a reasonable translatable document. If the PDF document is or is rendered searchable, it can probably be input into Studio as a PDF. The SDL websites have how-to articles on this.

I hope this helps.

With kind regards,

Adam Warren
(IanDhu - translator 41189)


 
DZiW (X)
DZiW (X)
Ukraine
English to Russian
+ ...
PDF is not for edit Dec 3, 2018

Actually, having in mind a "we too!" approach and free* competition, users' feedback and exp about a specific application has little to do with a generalized question about all the solutions. Meanwhile several colleagues made good remarks about free TransPDF. My client send me txt/doc only, yet in case of emergency I still prefer either FineReader f... See more
Actually, having in mind a "we too!" approach and free* competition, users' feedback and exp about a specific application has little to do with a generalized question about all the solutions. Meanwhile several colleagues made good remarks about free TransPDF. My client send me txt/doc only, yet in case of emergency I still prefer either FineReader for complicated or free WordFast Anywhere for simple files.

Cheers

[Edited at 2018-12-03 18:33 GMT]
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valerie hussar
valerie hussar
Local time: 19:43
English to Russian
make good Mar 13, 2019

Ankita, you asked a question that you did not need to be answered as you simply have a product to offer. Somebody has already studied the process that you refer to in you subsequent post.
It is not a good practice. However you may make good: study the tools colleagues already use for the task and make a better product. It will sell itself as soon as it hits the market. best of luck.

[Edited at 2019-03-13 21:55 GMT]


Ankita Arora
 
Diana Coada (X)
Diana Coada (X)  Identity Verified
United Kingdom
Local time: 16:43
Portuguese to English
+ ...
It depends Mar 16, 2019

Ankita Arora wrote:

When you do not have the source or a base image and have the requirement to re-create the image in different languages, What is the standard process you follow?


1. Scans of official documents, certificates and contracts - recreating images, stamps and so on is expressly forbidden by many authorities so what translators do is ''recreate'' them in written form:

[round stamp: Ministry of Justice, etc.]
[illegible text]
etc.

2. Scans of any other text - ask for the original.


Kevin Fulton
Christine Andersen
 
Multiverse Solutions s.r.o. (X)
Multiverse Solutions s.r.o. (X)
Local time: 17:43
Polish to English
+ ...
Algorithm Jan 13, 2020

Image = chart, photo, graphics with source-language text overwritten.
Official use elements (stamps, marks) are excluded from the above.

Start point - is image recreation necessary?

If no, provide standard text version (possibly in a table corresponding with the layout of text blocks in the image)

If yes:

A. Can the original image be recreated at 100% fidelity without source files?

If no - or if the process is destructive - t
... See more
Image = chart, photo, graphics with source-language text overwritten.
Official use elements (stamps, marks) are excluded from the above.

Start point - is image recreation necessary?

If no, provide standard text version (possibly in a table corresponding with the layout of text blocks in the image)

If yes:

A. Can the original image be recreated at 100% fidelity without source files?

If no - or if the process is destructive - the customer has to make the decision about the next step. Possible copyright breach issues are for them to decide.

B. Yes - can it be done without image processing tools / specialised knowledge?

If no - consider extra charge and time

C. Can it be done directly within MS Word?
D. Will the result be reusable for the customer?

The answers will determine the process and tools necessary. A universal prescription is not possible. Theoretically, everything can be done in Photoshop. In practice, it may not be reasonable due to time and effort. Other programs may offer easier work with complex images. Vector programs differ in approaches to specific problems, so user responsiveness has to be included in the view. File compatibility is another matter of importance for post-processing and reuse.

Image count may become critical in large publications. I had a cash register manual to translate, with +700 images (key icons) in it. In the source language, it was a hand-crafted masterpiece. The developer did not expect translation, so their initial workflow to produce product documentation was a one-time affair. A workaround was necessary. Custom translation, specific solutions, unexpected problems. It is not a rare thing with small companies who may need to limit all expenses. In such cases, the image translation part of the process may be a challenge.
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How do you translate images or non-editable pdfs?






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