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RE: Revisiting Frame vs. Word in light of new capabilities
Subject:RE: Revisiting Frame vs. Word in light of new capabilities From:"Martinek, Carla" <CMartinek -at- zebra -dot- com> To:"TECHWR-L" <techwr-l -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com> Date:Thu, 24 Feb 2005 07:27:17 -0600
Nandini:
Wow! Lots of issues to cover. I'm only going to address the translation part of it, although from what you describe, I would say that FrameMaker is by far the better option. I use FrameMaker for all of our documentation and translations (16+ languages, including Japanese).
It sounds like you are using an independent translator, which is fine for some things, but in the scenario you describe, you could easily overwhelm this person with updates.
Your documentation and translation requirements need to be the deciding factor on what program you choose to use, and not what program a single translator uses. If you decide that Frame is the best thing for YOU to use, then it's likely that you will need to cut loose the existing translator, and choose someone else. Your schedule of updates indicates that you don't have time for the translator to have a learning curve with FrameMaker, so you need to find another translator who knows Frame.
I highly recommend using a competent translation company over an individual for several reasons, a few of which are:
* A translation company will use a translation database program such as TRADOS, which will speed up the translations, reduce translation costs, and help with consistency with terms and phrases.
* A translation company will have translation reviews by a second translator built into their process, whereas an individual translator probably doesn't.
* A translation company will be able to handle your translations in whatever format you have. The companies I work with can translate documents from Word, Ventura, CorelDraw, Illustrator, RoboHelp, Flash, HTML, XML, video voiceovers, and of course, Frame.
Regards,
*************************
Carla Martinek, Translation Coordinator/Editor
Zebra Technologies Corporation
333 Corporate Woods Parkway, Vernon Hills, IL 60061
tel: 847.793.5616 fax: 847.821.1795
cmartinek -at- zebra -dot- com
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