We specialize in translating English and Japanese.

Translation is never just right or wrong. Language is so complex that no two translators will ever translate a page in the same way, and quality can vary. The purpose of the document may demand precise knowledge of technical or industry terms.

The quality you need depends on what or who your text is for. A memo is not demanding, but a contract must be precise. An advertising text or published work must be almost perfect, since weaknesses may have long-lasting negative effects on a brand’s image.

The translation standard ISO17100 specifies mechanisms like revision and review. Other forms of quality assurance can be through CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) tools or proofing tools.

Revision is a procedure in which a second translator makes a thorough re-reading of the source and target texts, checking correspondence between them in all aspects, correcting mistakes, and improving the text.

Proofreading has various definitions but usually means a final check of a text to ensure it is ready for printing. This involves spotting awkward phrases, spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, typos, and other minor errors.

TechTrans does its best to ensure good quality translations, but we know that anyone can make a mistake. Tell us if you are not satisfied and we will make every effort to solve the problem. Please try to identify exactly what the problem is, so we can address it effectively.

A good translator is not just a person who knows two languages, but one who knows how to use them – a good writer who can express things accurately and naturally. The translator must be sensitive to the purpose (audience) and style of each document.

A document’s size is usually determined by the number of pages or words. TechTrans defines an English page as 200 words and a Japanese page as 400 characters.

The delivery time will depend on the amount of text you need translated, and on the language combination. If you would like your translation delivered more quickly, you can order express delivery, which costs slightly more.

Because translators work using translation tools, we need editable files that can be used in these tools. Unfortunately, PDF files are not editable. We can, of course, convert PDF files into Word format but the result will be less successful as the line breaks and pagination will no longer match that of the source file. We can prepare a PDF file and create a “new” original, but this will cost you more and take longer. The easiest option is to give us the working file that the document was created from. This is often in Office Suite. If the document contains images containing text, we also need to be able to access these.

We handle most file formats. Sometimes we might need to prepare the files slightly before translation. We will find the most time-efficient and cost-efficient solution for your text.

Yes, we do. Our translation tools help to protect the tags in your documents. We can go in and protect the tags in your document.

Computer Assisted Translation or Computer Aided Translation involves using a translation tool that helps the translator during the translation process. One advantage of using a CAT tool is that the translator can translate a much higher number of words per day because the tool recognizes repetitions or text that has been translated before and can be reused. In general, we only use a CAT tool for projects where time is of the essence.

We have wide experience with post-editing. More and more companies are using large language data banks for machine translation using CAT/AI. While this kind of translation can be appealing because it is often less expensive, the translation produced is always unsatisfactory and mostly unusable. Professional level translation requires a human translator to find major and minor translation errors, correct grammar and syntax, and the nuances of natural human speech and writing. Machine translation is a very poor substitute for quality translation. Our post-editing process assures you of a quality product, even if the original was a CAT/AI product. Our post-editing rate is 2.5 yen/word.

There is no universal standard for the notarization of translations. If you are sending a certificate or testimonial to a foreign government agency, a sworn translation may be required. Often an authorized translation is sufficient. However, we recommend that you check with the body that requires the translation and find out what their requirements are.

The cost of a translation varies and depends on the number of words, the language combination, the delivery time, and the file format that you have provided us with.

     Translation from Japanese to English (英訳) = ¥10/word

     Translation from English to Japanese (和訳) =¥10/character.

Upload your text through our Contact page to order a translation or get an estimate.

Generally, costs for interpretation are based on either an hourly rate or a job/day rate. We ask that potential clients provide us with relevant materials and background information before the job begins.

     Interpreting (English to Japanese 英通訳) = ¥10,000/hour

     Interpreting (Japanese to English 和通訳) = ¥10,000/hour.

Upload relevant material or background information on our Contact page.

TechTrans can create an attractive one-page site for clients who have a limited budget and relatively simple needs. You can find your own Internet provider or we can do that for you at a reasonable price. A very simple 1-page website starts at ¥50,000. Basic hosting and maintenance costs: (a) Hosting (What TechTrans pays our Internet provider (Hostgator) for web hosting service: Annual cost = ¥3,200 (b) Domain name (URL) registration: Annual cost =¥1,600, (c) Technical website maintenance (monitoring software updates, security, infrastructure, etc.): Cost per month = ¥5,000.

We will give you a complete estimate breakdown for your new site once we receive all the necessary data from you.

We price our products in yen and use the appropriate exchange rate posted on the WSJ Markets site on the day the product is invoiced.

Ideally, we would need an exported file from the system that hosts the website, containing the text to be translated. This saves time for you and us. If we only have a Word file containing the text to be translated, this will involve much more work for us and you. First of all, someone will have to sit and copy all the text from the website, and then you will have to paste the translation back into the CMS (Content Management System) once the text has been translated. If you cut and paste yourself, there is also a risk that you will miss pages and text that needs to be translated. We have technology to easily import and export texts for translation for many of the major CMS systems, such as WordPress. But no matter which system you use, we will always try to find the most time-efficient and cost-efficient solution. Often the IT department or the person responsible for the website at the company will be best placed to export the text from the website.

Editing/Rewriting/Proofreading: ¥5,000/hour

Video/Audio editing = ¥5,000/hour charge for piecework.

Video/Audio transcription (Japanese or English) = ¥5,000/hour

TechTrans primarily works with scientific, technological, and IT documentation. But we also have wide experience in translating a variety of projects that include advertising, business contracts, corporate planning, and government white papers. We also work with artists to present their works online. In addition, we have a great deal of experience with restaurant and menu translation and localization.

Either you reimport the text yourself, or we can reimport it into the original layout, giving you a finished, proofread file with the correct hyphenation. We can also provide you with a layout that is compatible with the localized translation.

DTP means DeskTop Publishing and involves fitting the text into a layout. We can also reimport translated text into the original layout and deliver a print-ready PDF with the hyphenation and layout.