Technical documentation, prepared properly the first time
We write, edit and translate the documents that machines are shipped with: operating manuals, maintenance schedules, parts catalogues, safety instructions and tender files.
Most of our work arrives as a folder of inconsistent source material — a draft written by the engineer who built the thing, an older manual for the previous model, a spreadsheet of part numbers and a few drawings in formats nobody opens any more. We turn that into one document set that reads the same way throughout, uses one term for one thing, and can be handed to a customer or a certification body without apology.
What we are usually asked for
Translation
German, English and Polish, with a reviewer who knows the subject reading after the translator. No machine output is delivered unedited.
Editing and rewriting
Source documents brought to a consistent structure, register and terminology before anything is translated.
Terminology
A glossary per client, maintained between projects, so the same part is not called three different things across three manuals.
Layout
Typesetting of the finished text back into the client's template, including tables, callouts and figure numbering.
How a job runs
- 1. We read everything first
- Before quoting we go through the source material and say plainly what is missing, contradictory or out of date. This is the step clients most often expect to skip and most often thank us for afterwards.
- 2. Scope and glossary are agreed in writing
- Word count, file formats, delivery dates and the terminology list. Changes after this point are quoted separately rather than absorbed silently into the schedule.
- 3. Translation, then review by a second person
- The reviewer is never the translator. For regulated documents the reviewer holds the relevant qualification.
- 4. Layout and a final read on paper
- Figure references, cross-references and page breaks are checked in the final layout, not in the text file. Errors hide in that gap.
Minimum order. We do not take single-page jobs or same-day work. The review step is what we are actually selling, and it cannot be compressed into an afternoon.
Typical turnaround
| Up to 20 pages | 5 working days |
|---|---|
| 20 to 80 pages | 2 to 3 weeks |
| Full document set | quoted per project, usually 4 to 8 weeks |
| Glossary only | 5 to 10 working days |
Dates are counted from the moment the last piece of source material reaches us, not from the order date. In practice that difference is the most common reason a schedule slips, so it is worth settling early.
