Translate a product catalogue into Italian

What Italian changes in a catalogue

Italian text runs somewhat longer than English, and a catalogue is built from short labels that often appear without context. Those are where problems hide.

• Colour and material agreement: the adjective agrees with the product noun (rosso, rossa, rossi, rosse), while blu, rosa, viola and beige never change. In a variant table where "Red" stands alone, the gender is guesswork: the row may describe a sedia (feminine) and still receive "Rosso".
• Accented capitals: "PIÙ VENDUTO", "È ARRIVATA LA NUOVA COLLEZIONE". Writing "E'" instead of "È" in all-caps headings is a common error, and the catalogue font must include È, À, Ù and Ò.
• Plurals: Italian uses the one, many and other categories. You write "1 pezzo", "6 pezzi", and the many category covers large round numbers ("1 milione di pezzi venduti"). Strings such as "3 item(s)" need a proper plural form.
• Register: trade catalogues usually address the reader with the polite Lei ("Scopra la gamma") or an impersonal form ("Si consiglia di…"); the informal tu ("Scopri") is common in consumer fashion and homeware.

Prices, measurements and codes: Italian conventions

A catalogue aimed at Italy should follow local conventions for numbers and trade wording. Check these page by page:

• Numbers: decimal comma and full stop for thousands, 1.250,00. A price list exported from a spreadsheet may keep the wrong format where cells hold text.
• Euro sign: both "€ 12,50" and "12,50 €" are used in Italy; pick one and keep it throughout.
• VAT: VAT becomes IVA; "excl. VAT" is IVA esclusa, "incl. VAT" IVA inclusa.
• Dimensions: L 120 x P 60 x H 75 cm reads larghezza, profondità, altezza, so the Italian L means width, not length. An English "L x W x H" line needs checking so the figures still match the letters.
• Codes: "Ref." or "SKU" often becomes Cod. or Art., while the code itself (4521-B) must not change.
• Dates: day, month, year (15/03/2025), with lower-case month and day names (marzo, lunedì).

What Manuce returns, and what it does not do

Your catalogue is handled by Calliope, Manuce's marketing and sales specialist: taglines, product descriptions and selling points are translated as sales copy, not as a manual. A typical catalogue of around 10,000 words, roughly 40 pages, is delivered within minutes and kept in your client area.

Accepted formats: Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF and CSV. The file comes back in its original format, layout included: a PDF stays a PDF, an Excel price list stays a workbook.

What Manuce does not do:

• it cannot read a scanned PDF, that is an image with no selectable text;
• it does not take InDesign source files: export a PDF with selectable text or a Word file;
• it does not produce sworn or certified translations, should a distributor or authority ask for one;
• it does not set your commercial policy: Italian market pricing, delivery terms and reseller conditions remain your decisions.

For a catalogue sent to customers, the Professional level, which uses Calliope, is the usual choice; Essential is enough to understand an Italian supplier's catalogue internally.

Preparing the file and checking the result

Before uploading:

• make sure the PDF text can be selected, especially in badges and promotional boxes, which are often outlined on export;
• where possible, keep the illustrated catalogue and the price list (Excel or CSV) separate: prices are easier to check in a table;
• put the product name on the same row as each variant, so colour adjectives agree correctly.

When the free sample arrives, one paragraph translated at your chosen level, look at the register used (Lei, impersonal or tu) and at how your range names are handled. Manuce does not take glossaries: if "Riviera Collection" must stay as it is, check it in the sample, then in the full translation.

After delivery:

• scan all-caps headings for any "E'" in place of "È";
• check fixed-size boxes: "Spedizione gratuita" is longer than "Free delivery";
• proofread every price, item code and IVA inclusa line before printing.

In practice

1. Export the catalogue as a PDF with selectable text or a Word file, and the price list as Excel or CSV.
2. Upload the file to Manuce: the quote appears at once, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free Italian sample: register, range names, colour agreement.
4. Pay, then download the Italian catalogue in its original format from your client area.
5. Check prices, item codes, accented capitals and fixed-size boxes before printing.