Buyers of translation services tend to consider only two options: hire a freelance translator or go to a translation agency. Both are valid, but both have limitations, as we shall explain. And the limitations can be avoided by considering a third option, namely, a translation company (not an agency).

Of course, there are some very good freelance translators and their services may be cheaper than those of a translation company. But freelance services inevitably have limitations:

Limited availability for the client. A freelancer only has two hands, so if your translator is already busy with another job or has personal business to attend to (e.g. a doctor’s appointment), your translation will have to wait.

Limited number of language pairs. Aside from a small number of exceptional individuals who are genuinely proficient in five or six languages, most freelance translators offer only one or two language combinations (assuming they only ever translate into their mother tongue, but that’s a topic for a separate post).

Limited production capacity. Freelance translators aren’t machines and the day has only so many hours, so they will never be able to deliver more than their maximum daily output.

Limited quality control and review. Freelance translators work on their own, so they self-check (if they have time) and their translations are never reviewed by a second pair of eyes.

The other option is translation agencies, many of them multinational. Their self-presentations tend to go something like this:

We’re very good

We have 3,000 translators

We specialise in all types of documents

We translate from and into all languages

What makes agencies appealing is their competitive pricing (but what do you get for it?) and marketing muscle, which helps make up for high client turnover. Generally, they suffer from serious structural shortcomings, most notably the lack of any real tie or commitment between the agency and its translators (often poorly paid and neglected), so there is little sense of personal responsibility.

They either do not have or fail to apply any clear notion of what “translating” entails and what it requires (if it is to be done properly). In short, they present their clients with translations that Translator L&F would not consider worthy of the name.