zappmedia
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Language takes shape

Your layout.
In every language.

Translation changes text length. A different script changes typesetting. We bring the two together: multilingual typesetting, careful layout adaptation and prepress for your international publications.

Translation, typesetting and output in one coordinated project.

Languages. Service. Quality. Technology.

Turnaround
Hours–days

depending on project volume and requirements

Experience
30+ years

localization experience at zappmedia GmbH, since 1993

Projects
90,000+

completed localization projects

Client testimonials
1,047

published feedback from our clients

Languages
80+

for translation, voice recording, subtitling and transcription

Certification
ISO 9001

TÜV-audited quality management at zappmedia GmbH, since 2006

The language changes.
The design stays yours.

From manuals to packaging, we integrate translated content into your existing design. Text, typography and page layout are reviewed together.

Brochures & marketing

Publications, advertisements, marketing materials and business cards with consistent typography in the target languages.

Manuals & documentation

Technical documents with readable tables, consistent illustrations and carefully adapted line and page breaks.

Packaging & print

Multilingual content for limited space, with agreed font selection and prepress output.

Different characters.
Different typesetting rules.

Multilingual typesetting considers characters, word breaks, hyphenation and the conventions of the target market.

Arabic, Hebrew & Persian

Right-to-left typesetting affects text flow, alignment and page sequence. Embedded numbers and Latin terms need particular attention.

Chinese & Japanese

Simplified or traditional Chinese characters are selected for the target market. Japanese text can be horizontal or vertical, depending on the publication.

Europe & other writing systems

Accents, special characters and suitable font coverage matter as much as hyphenation and readable line lengths.

Files & output

From the layout file
to the final output.

We review your source files and agree editable formats, required fonts and the intended output before production begins.

Multilingual typesetting samples

Examples from the existing zappmedia portfolio.

Multilingual typesetting brochure · German · PDF

From the original
to the international edition.

Four steps connect translation, layout and approval.

  1. Review the files

    We clarify layouts, images, fonts, target languages and the required output together.

  2. Transfer the text

    Translation and terminology are coordinated with the existing design and typesetting.

  3. Adapt the layout

    Text frames, line breaks, characters and writing directions are reviewed in the target language.

  4. Approve the output

    You receive the agreed layout and print files after review and approval.

Good typesetting needs
a clear scope.

Page count, target languages, file format, layout complexity and print requirements determine the work involved. We review your files and quote for translation and multilingual typesetting to suit the project.

An individual quote governs the work; a page count alone is not a sufficient estimate.

The translation price list provides guidance. Multilingual typesetting and creative adaptation are quoted according to the specific project scope.

Explore price lists

Questions & answers

Which files do you need for multilingual typesetting?

Ideally, the editable layout file or an appropriate interchange format, together with images, available fonts and a PDF of the original for reference. If only a PDF is available, we first clarify the preparation work required.

Will our original design be retained?

Your design is the starting point. Target-language text may be longer or shorter, so we carefully adapt fonts, spacing, line breaks and text frames. We agree any necessary design changes with you.

Do you also provide print-ready files?

Yes. The existing service includes high-resolution PDFs for prepress. Required output specifications and any additional formats are agreed for your project in advance.

Client references from zappmedia

A selection of our clients and partners.

Scripts, formats and text directions

Business service File transfer Confidentiality FAQ Work samples

Multilingual typesetting takes account of country-specific characters and typesetting conventions, together with the appropriate word, syllable and sentence breaks.

We provide multilingual typesetting in all languages for brochures, manuals, technical documentation, packaging, print advertisements, marketing materials, documents, business cards and more.

Your original file layout remains unchanged; typography and spacing in the foreign-language text are harmoniously adapted.

Request a quote

Asian and Middle Eastern typesetting

Asian and Middle Eastern typesetting requires further considerations. For example, Persian, Hebrew and Arabic are set from right to left, while Japanese may be set from top to bottom. Books and other publications then have their binding on the right because, from our perspective, they are read “from back to front”.

Chinese can be set in simplified characters (People’s Republic of China / simplified Chinese) or traditional characters (Taiwan / traditional Chinese). Selecting the most appropriate character set benefits your publications for China.

Software and file formats for multilingual typesetting

On Mac and PC, we process all common file formats: InDesign® / Illustrator® / Acrobat / FrameMaker® / Photoshop® / PageMaker®, as well as QuarkXPress® and Microsoft Office®.

Prepress

Our specialists create print files for your publications and presentations in other languages.

For prepress, we produce high-resolution PDFs containing all necessary typesetting information, allowing further processing by any printing company.

We also offer conversion of font data to outlines and delivery as EPS or TIF files.

Languages with particular requirements for multilingual typesetting:

Amharic ⋅ Arabic ⋅ Armenian ⋅ Athabaskan ⋅ Bengali ⋅ Bulgarian ⋅ Burmese ⋅ Cherokee ⋅ Chinese ⋅ Devanagari ⋅ Eritrean ⋅ Gaelic ⋅ Georgian ⋅ Glagolitic ⋅ Greek ⋅ Gujarati ⋅ Gurmukhi ⋅ Hebrew ⋅ Hindi ⋅ Indonesian ⋅ Inuit ⋅ Ivrit ⋅ Japanese ⋅ Cambodian ⋅ Kannada ⋅ Korean ⋅ Lao ⋅ Latvian ⋅ Lithuanian ⋅ Malayalam ⋅ Malay ⋅ Macedonian ⋅ Moldovan ⋅ Mongolian ⋅ Nepali ⋅ Pashto ⋅ Persian ⋅ Polish ⋅ Punjabi ⋅ Romanian ⋅ Russian ⋅ Sinhala ⋅ Slovak ⋅ Slovenian ⋅ Swahili ⋅ Syriac ⋅ Tamil ⋅ Telugu ⋅ Thai ⋅ Tibetan ⋅ Tigre ⋅ Tigrinya ⋅ Czech ⋅ Turkish ⋅ Ukrainian ⋅ Hungarian ⋅ Urdu ⋅ Vietnamese ⋅ Belarusian

View multilingual typesetting samples here

Scripts / special characters

The following are examples of country-specific scripts and special characters:

European examples

German

Ä Ö Ü ä ö ü ß

Danish / Norwegian

Å Æ Ø å æ ø

Finnish / Swedish

Å Ä Ö å ä ö

Dutch

É Ë Ï Ó Ÿ é ë ï ó ÿ

French

À Â Æ Ç È É Ê Ë Î Ï Ô Œ Ù Û Ÿ à â æ ç è é ê ë î ï ô œ ù û ÿ

Italian

À È É Ì Í Ï Ò Ó Ù Ú à è é ì í ï ò ó ù ú

Spanish

Á É Í Ñ Ó Ú á ç é í ñ ó ú ü ª º ¡ ¿

Portuguese

Â Ã Ç Ê Ó Ô Õ â ã ç ê ó ô õ ü

Polish

Ą Ć Ę Ł Ń Ó Ś Ź Ż ą ć ę ł ń ó ś ź ż

Czech

Á Č Ď É Ě Í Ň Ó Ř Š Ť Ú Ů Ý Ž á č ď é ĕ í ň ó ř š ť ú ů ý ž

Slovak

Á Ä Č Ď É Í Ĺ Ľ Ň Ó Ô Ŕ Š Ť Ú Ý Ž á ä č ď é í ĺ ľ ň ó ô ŕ š ť ú ý ž

Slovenian

Č Š Ž č š ž

Romanian

Â Ă Î Ş Ţ â ă î ş ţ

Hungarian

Á É Í Ó Ö Ő Ú Ü Ű á é í ó ö ő ú ü ű

Maltese

Ċ Ġ Ħ Ż ċ ġ ħ ż

Estonian

Ä Č Õ Ö Š Ü Ž ä č õ ö š ü ž

Lithuanian

Ą Ė Ę Į Ū Ų ą ė ę į ū ų

Latvian

Ā Č Ē Ģ Ī Ķ Ļ Ņ Ō Ŗ Š Ū Ž ā č ē ģ ī ķ ļ ņ ō ŗ š ū ž

Greek

Α Β Γ Δ Ε Ζ Η Θ Ι Κ Λ Μ Ν Ξ Ο Π Ρ Σ Τ Υ Φ Χ Ψ Ω α β γ δ ε ζ η θ ι κ λ μ ν ξ ο π ρ σ τ υ φ χ ψ ω

Bulgarian (Cyrillic)

А Б В Г Д Е Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ь Ю Я а б в г д е ж з и й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ъ ь ю я

Russian (Cyrillic)

А Б В Г Д Е Ё Ж З И Й К Л М Н О П Р С Т У Ф Х Ц Ч Ш Щ Ъ Ы Ь Э Ю Я а б в г д е ё ж з и й к л м н о п р с т у ф х ц ч ш щ ъ ы ь э ю я

Asian / Middle Eastern examples

Arabic

ا ب ت ث ج ح خ د ذ ر ز س ش ص ض ط ظ ع غ ف ق ك ل م ن ه و ي

Hebrew

א ב ג ד ה ו ז ח ט י ך כ ל ם מ ן נ ס ע ף פ ץ צ ק ר ש ת

Chinese – simplified characters

万 与 丑 专 业 丛 东 丝 两 严 丧 个 丰 临 丸 为 丽 举 乃 么 义 乌 乐 乔 习 乡 书 买 乱 了 争 亏 云 产 亩 亲 亵 亿 仅 仆 从 仑 仓 仪 们 价 仿 众 优 伙 会 伛 伞 伟 传 伤 伥 伧 伪 体 余 佣 佥 侥 侦 侨 侩 侬 党 兰 关 兴 养 兽 冈 册 写 军 农 冬 冯 冻 几 凤 凫 凭 凯 凶 出 击 凿 刍 划 刘 则 刚 创 刨 制 刽 刿 剂 剐 剧 劝 办 务 劢 动 励 劳 势 勋 匡 匦 匮 区 医 千 华 协 单 卖 卜 卢 卤 卧 卫 厂 厄 厅 历 厉 压 厌 厍 厘 厣 厮 县 参 双 发 变 叶 号 叹 叽 吁 吃 合 后 向 吓 吗 吨 听 回 团 园 困 围 囵 国 图 圆 圣 圹 场 坏 块 坚 坛 坛 坜 坝 坟 坠 垄 垆 垒 垦 垫

Chinese – traditional characters

萬 與 醜 專 業 叢 東 絲 兩 嚴 喪 箇 豐 臨 汍 為 麗 舉 迺 麽 義 烏 樂 喬 習 鄉 書 買 亂 暸 爭 虧 雲 產 畝 親 褻 億 僅 僕 從 崙 倉 儀 們 價 倣 衆 優 夥 會 傴 傘 偉 傳 傷 倀 傖 偽 體 餘 傭 僉 僥 偵 僑 儈 儂 黨 蘭 關 興 養 獸 岡 冊 寫 軍 農 鼕 馮 凍 幾 鳳 鳧 憑 凱 兇 齣 擊 鑿 芻 劃 劉 則 剛 創 鑤 製 劊 劌 劑 剮 劇 勸 辦 務 勱 動 勵 勞 勢 勛 劻 匭 匱 區 醫 韆 華 協 單 賣 蔔 盧 滷 臥 衛 廠 阨 廳 歷 厲 壓 厭 厙 釐 厴 廝 縣 參 雙 髮 變 葉 號 嘆 嘰 籲 喫 閤 後 嚮 嚇 嗎 噸 聽 迴 團 園 睏 圍 圇 國 圖 圓 聖 壙 場 壞 塊 堅 壇 罈 壢 壩 墳 墜 壟 壚 壘 墾 墊

Japanese – Kanji · Hiragana · Katakana

一 二 三 四 五 六 七 八 九 十 百 千 万 億 月 火 水 木 金 土 日 大 中 小 上 下 左 右 山 川 林 森 赤 青 黄 白 黒 草 花 天 雨 晴 曇 雹 空 春 夏 秋 冬 喜 怒 哀 楽 朝 昼 晩 渡 辺 誠 あ い う え お か き く け こ さ し す せ そ た ち つ て と な に ぬ ね の は ひ ふ へ ほ ま み む め も や ゆ よ ら り る れ ろ わ を ん が ぎ ぐ げ ご ざ じ ず ぜ ぞ ば び ぶ べ ぼ ぱ ぴ ぷ ぺ ぽ ア イ ウ エ オ カ キ ク ケ コ サ シ ス セ ソ タ チ ツ テ ノ ナ ニ ヌ ネ ノ ハ ヒ フ ヘ ホ マ ミ ム メ モ ヤ ユ ヨ ラ リ ル レ ロ ワ ヲ ン ガ ギ グ ゲ ゴ ザ ジ ズ ゼ ゾ バ ビ ブ ベ ボ パ ピ プ ペ ポ

Korean

가 갸 거 겨 고 교 구 규 그 기 나 냐 너 녀 노 뇨 누 뉴 느 니 다 댜 더 뎌 도 됴 두 듀 드 디 라 랴 러 료 로 료 루 류 르 리 마 먀 머 며 모 묘 무 뮤 므 미 바 뱌 버 벼 보 뵤 부 뷰 브 비 사 샤 서 셔 소 쇼 수 슈 스 시 아 야 어 여 오 요 우 유 으 이 자 쟈 저 져 조 죠 주 쥬 즈 지 차 챠 처 쳐 초 쵸 추 츄 츠 치 카 캬 커 켜 코 쿄 쿠 큐 크 키 타 탸 터 텨 토 툐 투 튜 트 티 파 퍄 퍼 펴 포 표 푸 퓨 프 피 하 햐 허 혀 호 효 후 휴 흐 히 까 꺄 꺼 껴 꼬 꾜 꾸 뀨 끄 끼 따 땨 떠 뗘 또 뚀 뚜 뜌 뜨 띠 빠 뺘 뻐 뼈 뽀 뾰 뿌 쀼 쁘 삐 싸 쌰 써 쎠 쏘 쑈 쑤 쓔 쓰 씨 짜 쨔 쩌 쪄 쪼 쬬 쭈 쮸 쯔 찌

Vietnamese

Á À Ả Ã Ạ Ă Ắ Ằ Ẳ Ẵ Ặ Â Ấ Ầ Ẩ Ẫ Ậ Đ É È Ẻ Ẽ Ẹ Ê Ế Ề Ể Ễ Ệ Í Ì Ỉ Ĩ Ị Ó Ò Ỏ Õ Ọ Ô Ố Ồ Ổ Ỗ Ộ Ơ Ớ Ờ Ở Ỡ Ợ Ú Ù Ủ Ũ Ụ Ư Ứ Ừ Ử Ữ Ự Ý Ỳ Ỷ Ỹ Ỵ á à ả ã ạ ă ắ ằ ẳ ẵ ặ â ấ ầ ẩ ẫ ậ đ é è ẻ ẽ ẹ ê ế ề ể ễ ệ í ì ỉ ĩ ị ó ò ỏ õ ọ ô ố ồ ổ ỗ ộ ơ ớ ờ ở ỡ ợ ú ù ủ ũ ụ ư ứ ừ ử ữ ự ý ỳ ỷ ỹ ỵ

Thai

ก ข ฃ ค ฅ ฆ ง จ ฉ ช ซ ฌ ญ ฎ ฏ ฐ ฑ ฒ ณ ด ต ถ ท ธ น บ ป ผ ฝ พ ฟ ภ ม ย ร ล ว ศ ษ ส ห ฬ อ ฮ

Hindi – Devanagari

अ आ इ ई उ ऊ ऋ ए ऐ ओ औ ब भ द ड ध ढ ग घ ह ज झ य क ख म न ञ ण ङ ल प फ र स ष श च छ त ट थ ठ व

Your project. Your quote.

Send us your source material, target languages and preferred deadline. We clarify the requirements and quote for the services your project needs.