Revision and proofreading of your translations
in Verviers, Eupen and Malmedy
A text translated in house, inherited from a previous provider or produced by a machine: we place it against the original, correct what needs correcting and set the terminology straight before it goes out.
Free
Reading of the sample
1-3 d
Usual turnaround
70+
Languages revised
100 %
Revisers of native standard
Six levels of intervention, from light to heavy
Every text calls for a different treatment. We point you to the level that serves a purpose, not to the dearest one.
Comparative revision
Cross-reading against the source text: mistranslations, omissions, false friends, figures, dates and proper nouns.
Spelling and typography
Spelling, agreement, punctuation, capitals, non-breaking spaces and Belgian typographic conventions.
Terminological harmonisation
Alignment with your glossary and your earlier documents, so that the same part bears the same name on page 4 and on page 30.
Post-editing of machine output
Reworking of a machine output until the text can be circulated. That job has little in common with classic proofreading.
Adjusting the register
Too bureaucratic or too casual, an accurate text still misses its reader. We tune the tone to the intended audience.
Correction report
On request, every change comes back explained. That is the most useful tool when your translations are produced in house.
We read a few pages before drawing up a quote
Revising costs appreciably less than translating afresh, on one condition: that the starting text can still be saved.
So we read a sample without charging for it, then tell you what we found. If the mistranslations pile up, we steer you towards a fresh translation, even though revision would earn us more that day.
That verdict commits you to nothing. Above all it saves you from paying for a correction after which the text would still be unpublishable.
- Sample read at no charge
- Set line by line against the source
- Corrections tracked and explained
- Post-editing of machine output
Who sends us texts to revise
Four situations keep coming round across the district.
Translated in house
A German-speaking or Dutch-speaking colleague took it on. The substance holds, and you want validation before circulation.
Output from a machine
Raw output from an online tool is rarely publishable as it stands. Post-editing makes it reliable at a contained cost.
Text written straight in English
A researcher or an engineer writes directly in English before submitting. A reviser of native standard, versed in the field, makes the language idiomatic without touching the substance.
High-stakes document
Response to a public tender, regulatory leaflet, decisive letter to a client: the second pair of eyes often turns the outcome.
A text riddled with mistranslations costs more to revise than to translate afresh, and the result stays shaky. We say so as soon as we have read the sample, before any order is placed. Billing a revision on an unsalvageable text helps neither you nor us.
From the sample to a text you can circulate
No invoice until the real state of the text has been assessed.
- 01
You send a sample
The source and the existing translation, or simply a few representative pages of the document.
- 02
Reading and verdict
We assess the state of the text and tell you whether revision will do or whether translating afresh will work out cheaper.
- 03
Comparative revision
A reviser of native standard, at home in the field, sets both versions side by side, corrects, harmonises and applies your terminology.
- 04
Return
You get the corrected text back in its original format, with tracked changes if you asked for them.
Doubts about a translation you received?
A few pages will do. The reading costs nothing and the answer is straight.
What a revision covers
Native reviser with subject knowledge
The same requirement as for translation: mother tongue on the target side and genuine knowledge of your field.
The source stays open throughout
Reading only the translation lets omissions and mistranslations slip through. Both texts stay side by side from start to finish.
Free and straight verdict
Where translating afresh works in your favour, we say so, even when revision would earn us more.
Changes left visible
Every alteration stays visible and reasoned. That is what makes a team that translates for itself improve.
Short turnarounds
On most volumes, one to three working days. A revision moves faster than a full translation.
Same confidentiality
Agreement signed, files hosted in the European Union, deleted as soon as you ask.
Frequently asked questions
Proofreading or revision: which should I ask for?
Proofreading looks only at the target text: spelling, grammar, typography. Revision sets the translation against its source and hunts down mistranslations, omissions and terminological drift. We start from revision, the only one that genuinely protects the document.
Do you take over machine output?
Yes, that is post-editing, and its share grows every year. One caveat: a confidential document pasted into an online tool has already left your premises. For a sensitive item, human translation is called for from the outset.
Do you revise loss adjustment reports and insurance files?
Regularly. Since the Vesdre floods of 2021, plenty of files travel between a Dutch-speaking loss adjuster, a foreign insurer and an owner from here. The vocabulary there is fixed: valuation, depreciation, causes, reservations. Those texts therefore go to revisers who handle them daily.
And what about layout?
We repair what the translation damaged: overflowing boxes, faulty hyphenation, lost non-breaking spaces, tables distorted because the text grew longer. A full graphic overhaul is another trade, and we would rather say so than bill blind.
Get your free quote within the hour
Send us your document or your date: firm price, precise deadline, no obligation. You then decide, with everything in front of you.