Translate a Product Catalogue into Spanish

Spain or Latin America: pick your market first

A catalogue is written for specific buyers, and the Spanish used in product descriptions differs from country to country. A handful of words is enough to place a text:

• ordenador (Spain) / computadora (Mexico, Colombia, Peru…)
• móvil / celular
• frigorífico or nevera / refrigerador
• zumo / jugo, gafas / lentes

Register follows the same split. Many consumer catalogues in Spain address the reader informally (Descubre la nueva colección) and use vosotros for the plural; across Latin America the plural is always ustedes, and trade catalogues tend to use the formal usted (Descubra, Consulte nuestras condiciones). If one catalogue must serve both Madrid and Mexico City, choose a main variety, or aim for a more neutral Spanish that avoids the most regional words.

What changes in a Spanish catalogue

• Length: Spanish runs noticeably longer than English and close to French. Coming from English, text blocks grow; a 'NEW' badge becomes NOVEDAD.
• Punctuation: questions and exclamations open with an inverted mark, taglines included: ¿Necesitas más espacio?, ¡Nuevo!
• Numbers: Spain uses a decimal comma (1,5 kg, 2,40 m) and places the euro sign after the amount with a space; Mexico uses a decimal point (1.5 kg).
• Capitals: Spanish headings do not capitalise every word (Colección otoño-invierno), and months are lower case.
• Abbreviations: 'Ref.' stays Ref., 'approx.' becomes aprox., 'No.' becomes n.º, 'incl. VAT' becomes IVA incluido, 'excl. VAT' IVA no incluido.
• Plurals: Spanish has three plural categories, one of them for large round numbers: 1 unidad, 6 unidades, but 1 millón de unidades. Worth checking if quantities are generated from a spreadsheet.

What Manuce delivers, and what it does not

Your catalogue goes to Calliope, Manuce's marketing and sales specialist: taglines stay punchy and descriptions keep a selling tone rather than reading like a spec sheet. The file comes back in its original format (Word, PDF, PowerPoint, Excel, plain text, Markdown, HTML, RTF or CSV), layout included. For around 10,000 words, roughly forty pages, the translation arrives within minutes and stays available in your client area. For a catalogue that customers will see, the Professional level fits; Essential is enough to understand a catalogue internally.

Worth knowing:

• A scanned PDF (an image with no selectable text) cannot be read.
• Text embedded in a photo, icon or logo is not text: it stays as it is.
• InDesign files are not among the accepted formats: export a text-based PDF or start from the Word version.
• Manuce does not produce sworn or certified translations. A catalogue rarely needs one, but if an authority or public buyer demands it, you will need a certified translator.

Preparing the file

• Check the text is selectable: in your PDF, try highlighting a product name. If nothing selects, go back to the source file.
• Use the simplest file you have: if the price list or product data exists in Excel or CSV, translate it in that form and drop it back into your layout. Reference columns (REF. 4521-B, EAN codes) are easier to check that way.
• Leave room in fixed frames: banners, price badges and short captions overflow first, especially when translating from English.
• Check your fonts: a decorative heading font must include ñ, á é í ó ú ü, ¿ and ¡, or your layout software will substitute another font.
• Update prices, currencies and sizes in the source file if the target market requires it: a catalogue for Mexico does not show the same amounts as one for Spain.

For a brand or range name that must stay unchanged, check the free sample, then the full translation.

Proofing the Spanish catalogue before print

1. Variety: look for tell-tale words. One catalogue should not mix ordenador and computadora.
2. Register: informal or formal throughout, calls to action included (Pídelo hoy or Pídalo hoy, not both).
3. Inverted marks: every ? and ! has its opening ¿ or ¡.
4. Numbers: decimal separator consistent with the country, units unchanged.
5. Layout: no truncated taglines, no price pushed out of its badge.
6. References and product names: identical to the source.

For a large print run, a final read by someone from the target country remains a sensible precaution.

In practice

1. Export the catalogue as a text-based PDF, Word, Excel or PowerPoint file.
2. Upload it: the quote appears instantly, based on the exact word count.
3. Read the free sample to check the variety of Spanish, the register and product names.
4. Pay, download the Spanish catalogue in the same format, then proof the layout before printing.