What Is TEP? And What Does It Mean When Referring to Translations?

Liraz Postan

July 28 , 2023 · 2 min

TEP is the translation basis by which most translation agencies operate.

Most clients would probably not be familiar with this acronym, but TEP is the translation basis by which most translation agencies operate. TEP refers to the three most important aspects of a translation project, which are –

Translation: translating the text;
Editing: editing the text;
Proofreading: reviewing the target text.

The above three steps are essential for an accurate, high-quality final translation result.

Some Translation Agencies Don’t Fully Implement TEP

Any translation agency that offers top-quality translations will inevitably follow these three steps. Some agencies, to their detriment, offer only one step: this is the translation step, but without any quality control. This means that the file is translated and then sent back to the client.

Other agencies, however, offer two of the above three steps; meaning translation and editing. However, these two steps offer a level of quality that is not much better than the one-step translation process. Alternatively, they may offer translation and proofreading, but in this instance, the target text will not be compared directly with the source text, which could lead to many problems.

Why is Translation Editing Proofreading So Important?

So why is it so important that translators follow all of these steps? The answer is that the proper TEP sequence ensures the translation client that they’ll be receiving superior quality work. The proofreading of a translation doesn’t guarantee quality, because the text is not edited.

The proofreader of a target text doesn’t check the source text, and therefore doesn’t know whether a sentence is true to the original text. All the proofreader is doing essentially is ensuring the text is legible, with no grammatical errors.

That’s why it’s vitally important that the proofreading step be performed only once the text has been edited. Also, when working with files that require design work, like PDF files that (once translated) need to go through the intermediate step of Desktop Publishing, it’s essential to make a comparison in order to detect any errors, including grammatical and formatting problems.

For Accurate Translations Employ a TEP Translation Agency

When hiring a translation service you should ensure that the agency concerned follows these three basic steps. This will go a long way towards guaranteeing 100% accuracy and high quality in your translation project. Getblend Translation is the agency you need for your next translation project. We only employ professional and highly experienced translators ensuring that all our clients are 100% happy with the final result. Why not contact us today and let us provide an obligation-free quotation for your translation.