How to translate InDesign files (and what to expect)

Our workflow:

• Preserves your layout and style structure
• Keeps terminology consistent across pages
• Reduces delays caused by missing fonts and links
• Avoids overset text and formatting surprises
• Minimises the need for last-minute manual fixes

Step 1: Send us your files

To translate your InDesign files properly, we need the full InDesign package, not just the INDD file on its own.

If you can, send:

●   INDD or IDML file

●   Links folder (images and placed assets)

●   Fonts used in the file

●   Final PDF (reference copy so we can match the intended look)

If you are not an InDesign user, your designer can export the package for you and make sure it contains everything we need.

A complete package is the fastest route to clean multilingual artwork.

Fonts and links matter more than people expect

Fonts: If you’ve used a brand font or a licensed font, we’ll need it so we can typeset the text properly. If your fonts do not support certain writing systems (ie Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic etc), we can recommend an alternative that still matches your design for those languages.

Links: InDesign doesn’t usually embed images. It points to them. Without the images/links folder, we can’t see the layout properly while typesetting and will not be able to make sure that the text is correctly placed around or on images.

Links folders can be large. If they take time to transfer, sending them in batches can help or use a file transfer platform such as WeTransfer.com

Step 2: We prepare the file for translation

Before any translation starts, we prepare the file for translation and do preflight checks to make sure nothing important is missing.

Typical checks include:

• Checking for missing fonts or linked images
• Removing any copy left on the pasteboard (this can inflate word count)
• Checking paragraph structure and hard and soft returns, so text stays grouped logically during the translation process.
• Remove any unnecessary soft returns: line breaks rarely fall in the same place after translation and text expansion.
• Check the layout can accommodate text expansion (up to 15–30%, depending on language)
• Ensuring styles are set up correctly so changes can easily be made universally across all pages

A well-prepared source file gives you a smoother translation process and a simpler typesetting stage.

The prepped InDesign file is saved in IDML format (InDesign Markup Language), which stores content and formatting in a structured, tag-based way. When translation is complete and the final InDesign file is generated, the basic styles and formatting of the original file will be retained in the translated version.

Step 3: We import the text into our CAT tool

CAT tools (computer-assisted translation software) are used by translators and project managers to manage translations efficiently. They help by making translations searchable, repeatable, controllable and more consistent and streamline translation workflows and processes.

The CAT tool extracts the text from the IDML file and splits it into manageable units (segments). Those segments are analysed and matched against any previous work we’ve done, which improves consistency and efficiency by ensuring we don’t translate the same text twice.

Working in a CAT tool means translators focus purely on language, not formatting. They can restructure sentences, adjust length, and resolve ambiguities without text boxes shifting or layouts breaking on screen. Formatting decisions are deliberately deferred until the typesetting stage.

Translate first, typeset second. It’s the simplest way to stay in control when one file is going into many languages.

Separating translation and formatting in this way:

• Avoids manual copy-and-paste errors
• Reduces inconsistency in translations
• Ensures text is linguistically sound
• Keeps your design work intact

Step 4: Optional review before typesetting

If your content is specialised, or you have internal stakeholders who want to check terminology, we can set up an online review in the CAT tool before typesetting starts. Consistent changes are often easier at this stage because you are reviewing the translated text in one place, not hunting through pages of PDFs.

Step 5: Multilingual typesetting in InDesign

Multilingual typesetting is the process of placing translated text into the original design and fine-tuning the layout and formatting for each language. This is sometimes referred to as Multilingual DTP (desktop publishing).

Once translation is complete in the CAT tool, we generate an InDesign file for each language. The translated text is automatically placed back into the same text frames as the source, keeping the document structure and basic formatting intact and removing the need for copying and pasting. The layout then needs to be adjusted so the translation fits and matches the original design.

Text expansion is one of the reasons typesetting is essential for multilingual InDesign projects. When translated text runs longer, it can push copy outside text frames, force awkward wrapping, and create collisions with images, tables, and callouts. A German title might be 3 times as long as the English original which means it won't fit snugly back into place.

Common issues we catch and fix during typesetting and QA:

• Overset text (text hidden outside the frame).
• Text sitting over images, icons, or backgrounds after expansion
• Incorrect line breaks and spacing that affect readability
• Missing page numbers, incorrect running headers, or shifted footers
• Tables, charts, and callouts that no longer align
• Font issues where characters display incorrectly or not at all

The advantages of using native speaking typesetters

Having a typesetter who reads the target language is a real advantage. They can spot awkward breaks, spacing issues, missing text, and visual glitches quickly, because they’re judging meaning as well as layout. This becomes more important with scripts such as Russian, Chinese and Japanese, where a non-speaker may not notice that a line break, punctuation choice, or character rendering is wrong.

Right-to-left (RTL) languages such as Arabic and Hebrew need extra attention in InDesign. They require RTL-compatible fonts and the layout may need adapting, including mirroring certain elements where appropriate. This work should be handled by an RTL typesetter using InDesign with the correct RTL (ME) language settings. If an RTL InDesign file is opened in a standard, non-ME setup, text direction, punctuation and character shaping may display incorrectly.

Step 6: Quality checks in context

When the typesetting is complete, we send the typeset PDF to the translator for an in-context review. The translator will highlight any issues as comments in the file for the typesetter to process.

We also carry out a page-by-page comparison check against the original PDF to make sure the translated version is as close as possible in structure and presentation.

Step 7: Your review, then final delivery

When all our checks are complete, you receive a PDF for review which you can share with your colleagues and teams. This is your opportunity to mark up any changes before the file is finalised. After your sign-off, we generate the final InDesign package and deliver. Your internal team should be able to pick up the files and use them as normal.

A Real-World Example

A global spirits group needed an interactive competency document translated and typeset from start to finish for multiple markets. We translated the content in Spanish, German, French, Korean, Chinese for Taiwan, and Chinese for China, then flowed each language back into the InDesign layout and carried out full multilingual QA before delivery. The project showed why typesetting matters, German and French expanded and needed layout adjustments to avoid overset text and collisions, while Korean and Chinese shortened and required careful rebalancing of spacing and line breaks. We also confirmed fonts and character support early, so every language rendered cleanly, and the final PDFs matched the source in structure and presentation across all versions.

From translation to publishable artwork

The InDesign translation workflow is straightforward, but quality depends on what you send and how the work is managed. A CAT tool keeps translation consistent and controllable, and multilingual typesetting is what turns that translated text into publishable artwork that still looks like your brand.

Start your InDesign translation

To get started, send your InDesign package (INDD or IDML, Links folder, fonts, plus a reference PDF), along with your target languages and deadline. We’ll preflight the files, confirm scope and timings, and flag anything that needs fixing before translation begins.