Translate a product catalogue into English

What changes when a catalogue goes into English

A catalogue mixes three kinds of text: taglines, product descriptions and data (dimensions, colours, references). Each behaves differently in English.

• Length. English is usually compact: from French it typically runs 10 to 15% shorter. Description blocks tend to gain white space rather than overflow; very short headings and three-word taglines are the ones that can grow.
• Numbers. English uses a decimal point and a comma for thousands. Sources written with continental conventions need converting: 12,5 cm becomes 12.5 cm, 1.200 units becomes 1,200 units.
• Tax wording. For the UK, prices read incl. VAT or excl. VAT. The US has no VAT: prices are shown before sales tax, so the wording needs rethinking, not just translating.
• Plurals. English has only two forms (one and other), but zero takes the plural: 1 colour, 0 colours, 3 colours. A string such as {n} colours available in a spreadsheet export needs a singular version for when n is 1.

British or American English: decide first

A catalogue for buyers in Manchester does not read like one for buyers in Chicago, and a mix of the two looks careless on the page.

• Spelling: colour / color, grey / gray, aluminium / aluminum, and even catalogue / catalog.
• Dates: 03/04 is 3 April in the UK and 4 March in the US. For a season launch or an offer end date, spell the month out in the source.
• Headings: American style often capitalises every main word (Outdoor Furniture Collection); British style more often uses sentence case (Outdoor furniture collection).
• Sizes and units: a European shoe size 42 is neither a UK nor a US size, and American buyers expect inches and pounds. These are product data: translation does not recalculate them, so decide whether to adapt them yourself.

Check which variant comes back in the free sample; if your market needs the other one, plan a focused spelling review.

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

Your catalogue goes to Calliope, Manuce's marketing and sales specialist. Register matters here: a tagline that reads well in the source language should become something an English-speaking buyer would actually say, not a word-for-word copy such as The alliance of comfort and style. The free sample lets you judge this on your own copy before paying.

• Accepted formats: Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF and CSV.
• The file comes back in its original format, layout included: a Word catalogue stays Word, an Excel price list stays Excel.
• A typical catalogue is delivered within minutes, and the files are kept in your client area.

What Manuce does not do:

• It cannot read a scanned PDF (an image with no selectable text).
• It takes no glossary or term list. For a range name to keep as it is (Riviera Collection), check it in the free sample and again in the translation.
• It does not produce sworn or certified translations; a sales catalogue rarely needs one.

Preparing the catalogue file

• Start from a file with real text. If the catalogue is laid out in desktop publishing software, export it to a text-based PDF or to Word. Quick test: you should be able to select a word in the PDF.
• Watch for text baked into images. A New badge or a discount sticker drawn onto a product photo is not selectable text; like a scan, it is likely to stay in the source language. List those visuals so they can be redone.
• For Excel or CSV catalogues, keep one text per cell and put references (REF-2041-BL) and EAN codes in their own columns. Avoid cells assembled by formula (product name followed by colour): English word order differs, giving blue chair rather than chair blue.
• Label dimensions clearly. English catalogues usually give W × D × H; if the source shows three bare numbers, buyers may misread the order.
• Pick the sample paragraph carefully. Choose a description that contains a range name and a tagline: that is where tone and terminology show.

Checks before printing or publishing

1. Variant consistency: search the file for both color and colour; only one should appear.
2. Numbers and units: no decimal commas should remain (12,5), and units should match the decision you made for the market.
3. Catalogue disclaimers: lines such as Images for illustration purposes only or Prices are for guidance only should be present and suit the country of sale.
4. Product and range names: a proper name translated by mistake (a chair called Lune turning into Moon armchair) is quick to spot by scanning the headings.
5. Headings and taglines: these are the only blocks likely to grow, so look over the opening page of each range.

For a catalogue sent to customers or distributors, the Professional level fits the purpose; Premium adds a cross-review for a flagship catalogue.

In practice

1. Export your catalogue to a text-based PDF, Word or Excel file, with no scanned pages.
2. Decide on British or American English, and on units and sizes for the market.
3. Upload the file: the quote appears at once, based on the exact word count.
4. Check the free sample on a description with a range name, then pay.
5. Download the English file and check numbers, spelling variant and product names.