PLG Releases Press Release for Label Translation and Compliance Services

This month, PLG released a press release about its label translation and compliance services. Among media sites that picked up the press release include Yahoo! News and Stores Magazine (an online retailer magazine). As of today, the press release has been read by nearly 1,000 people.

To see the press release on Yahoo! News, visit the link below:

http://news.yahoo.com/precision-language-graphics-offers-label-translation-compliance-services-080623246.html

How do PLG Members Celebrate the Holidays?

PLG would like to wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. Above is our holiday e-card that we have created. Click the image above to see a bigger picture. From left to right are Raudel Caldera, Tina Ji, Eric Mora, Eric Zhang, Crista Busse, Helen Shi and Joanna Wong.

Also, the staff at PLG wanted to share some of their personal Christmas or holiday stories and memories with you. Read more below: 

Raudel

Like most Mexican-American families, Raudel’s family celebrated the Christmas holiday on Christmas Eve. As a kid, he has fond memories of waiting up until midnight to open gifts. His entire family would get together, and there would be so many people in the house that he says there wasn’t enough room. One of his favorite parts of Christmas is the traditional Mexican Christmas foods, such as tamales, ponche and buñuelos. 

Tina

Tina says that each year her family decorates the house and puts up a Christmas tree. The family all gets together and cooks a lot of delicious food and takes a family picture. Some of Tina’s friends in China are very interested in American holidays and traditions so for each big holiday (Thanksgiving, Christmas, etc.) she sends pictures and tells them what kind of things we do over here to celebrate. This year she is sending a recording of her singing the song “Last Christmas” in English.

Eric Mora

Eric’s family also looks forward to the traditional Mexican Christmas foods each year. He celebrates Christmas Eve with his family, and goes to his girlfriend’s family’s house on Christmas day. One of his favorite parts of living in Chicago this time of year is driving through the city to see all the beautiful Christmas lights.

Eric Zhang

Eric Zhang didn’t celebrate Christmas growing up in China so he says that the traditions his family has are a result of living in America. They decorate the house and exchange gifts like many families. Because he doesn’t have extended family in the US, they take the time off to visit friends.

Crista

In Crista’s family, the entire extended family gets together on Christmas morning for breakfast. Then everyone sits in a big circle to open presents. Her grandmother hands out the presents, one at a time, with the help of the young members of the family. After presents are open, they all gather up to finish preparing dinner and have a huge meal. One thing her family is never short on at Christmas is food!

Helen

Along with Eric, Helen celebrates with their children. They exchange gifts as a family and find time to get together with friends. Helen says that Christmas is a nice time to relax and just enjoy the camaraderie of family and friends.

Johanna

In Joanna’s family, they start the day with her daughters coming to her house and opening presents as a family. Then the family goes to Burger King for breakfast every year. In the afternoon, they visit other family members and relax.

We hope you enjoyed getting a little peek into our Christmas traditions. We want to wish all our clients, suppliers and friends a very warm and happy holiday season, and happy New Year! We look forward to working with all of you and sharing more stories in 2013!

Preparing for International Presence at Trade Shows

The 2012 International Manufacturing Technology Show (IMTS) in Chicago reported that there were over 100,200 registrations, with visitors from 112 countries. The 2012 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas also boasted an attendance record of over 156,000 with an international attendance percentage of 22%. With an international presence like this, many U.S. businesses are becoming better prepared to provide their marketing materials in a foreign language. PLG’s Manager of Business Development, Eric Mora, is often surprised by the high turnout of foreign visitors. “When I’m walking around at trade shows, I hear so many different languages being spoken. Walk past one group, and they’re speaking Chinese; another, Spanish; another, Polish” Eric says.

One aspect of preparation for these shows that is often overlooked is translation of company literature in anticipation of the high volume of international visitors. With the upcoming Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this January, many of the clients that we met last year have already been contacting PLG to prepare for the show.  Below is the most common type of materials that are translated before upcoming trade shows: 

1. Bilingual Business cards – Have one side of your business card in English and the other in another language. Most common languages include Japanese, Arabic, Chinese Korean, Spanish and French. 
2. Brochures – Translate your brochures to have out at your booth. If costs are a concern, you may want to only translate important or key information or brochures for your top products. 
3. Slideshows or other sales materials – If you have a slideshow or other digital presentation at your booth, you may also want to translate that too.  Give your guests the option to receive a copy of the presentation as well, either through a CD or through e-mail. 
4. Interpreting – If you are hoping to discuss business with a specific market or client, you may want to have an interpreter available with you.

By preparing for the international visitors at whichever trade show you will be attending you are showing that your company has a global presence interested in selling internationally. By presenting information in their native language, your customers will be able to absorb the message that you are trying to send. You may also have potential buyers out there that are going to go with you instead of one of your competitors because you have your materials translated when they do not.

Eric Mora has received some feedback from clients in regards to the benefits of translating company material.  “I actually had a client tell me that if they translate their software program into Arabic, they would have several buyers lined up who would act immediately if it’s available” Eric said. Being prepared could mean the difference between solidifying a sale and having the client walk away.

What are PLG team members doing when they're not hard at work?

In the spirit of not working (PLG is closed both Thursday and Friday for the Thanksgiving holiday) we asked a few of our team members to submit a photo of something that they did out of work. Below are a few.

Eric, our business development director, and his girlfriend on a weekend hiking trip on Camelback Mountain in Scottsdale, AZ.

What a stunning view!

Raudel (our Spanish-speaking program manager and web localization analyst) in the cold morning warming up for "Carrera de los muertos" 5K race (Race of the Dead) in Chicago's Mexican-American Pilsen neighborhood.

After the race, food vendors line up to offer warm food like pozole (hominy soup) and hot beverages like ponche (a traditional Mexican holiday fruit punch) to the 5K runners. "It made running the 5K worth it" Raudel said.

Tina and her husband on the Willis Tower Skydeck ledge where few people dare to go. (The Willis Tower is previously known as the Sears Tower, and to many Chicagoans, the name Sears still remains).

Our favorite picture. Tina's green sweater revealed the secret that she was in front of a green screen. The Skydeck picture above this one is real but this one is for those who are not brave enough for the Skydeck ledge. Tina wanted to do both :) 

That's it for this month! Enjoy your Thanksgiving Holiday!

In Photos: Tina’s Trip to Beijing, China

This Month, our Senior DTP specialist Tina Ji took a trip to Beijing China, where she is originally from. We asked her to take a few pictures of the things she did. Here are a few of the adventures she had:

Tina playing the Chinese game “Mahjong” at her brother’s house. This version of Mahjong is played with a table that automates the process. Mahjong is a game of skill, strategy and calculation. Go, Tina, Go!

Here we have a traditional Chinese dish, Stir fry eel with pork. A little spicy, Tina warns. When something on the Menu is labeled “Sichuan style” – it means spicy.

Tina goes for good old American fast food at a KFC in Beijing. She noted how the food was mostly the same with some local flair. The price for a bucket of chicken is nearly the same as in the U.S.

Tina at a KTV (karaoke television) singing “old Chinese songs” she says.

Street at the center of Beijing, at Chang'an Avenue (Eternal Peace Street) is Beijing’s most famous street, like the Champs-Élysées is to Paris. 

Tina at the pastry shop buying a birthday cake for her dad (who is turning 82 this year). Congrats Dad!

Just hop on the right bus number Tina says. But will it be that easy for those of us who don't speak Chinese?

Xinhuamen, the "Gate of New China" which serves as the central headquarters of the Chinese government. It's like the "Chinese White House" Tina says.

And last but not least, Tiananmen Gate, the gate to the Forbidden City.

Thank you Tina for sharing your experiences with us!

Learn about our Project Manager: Crista Busse

The Project Manager is one of the most important roles for getting a translation project completed. A good project manager must manage time and maximize cost savings without compromising quality. Today we interviewed one of our project managers, Crista Busse. Crista’s job includes finding the best translator or interpreter from a list of over 1,600 professional translators. She may also do some file preparation work before sending the project to the translator so the translator can spend more time translating and less time on file management and other “tedious” work. After she receives the files back from the translator, Crista double checks that the requirements have been met and then forward the translation to the editing or quality assurance team if second-person editing is part of the project scope. Client delivery is usually but not always the final step. After Crista delivers the project to the client, she is available to answer any further questions that the client may have. 

We took some time to ask Crista a few questions about her job:

Do you speak any foreign languages?  
I am fluent in French, know some Spanish and some basics of Italian and German (mostly know grammatical information, rather than vocabulary). 


What is your favorite language to work with?
French, Spanish, Italian and German. Since these are the languages I know best, it makes them easier for me to work with, but I also enjoy learning so working with these languages allows me to learn more of them each day. 

What is the most rewarding thing about your job?
Using my linguistic knowledge/background on a daily basis, understanding grammatical rules (I’m a bit of a grammar nerd), learning new things every day and organizing/managing projects. 

What is the most challenging language to work with?
Thai is probably the most challenging language for me for multiple reasons. One, I don’t know the language at all. Two, it’s a different character set than the EFIGS (English, French, Italian, German and Spanish) languages I know. And three, I have learned that Thai doesn’t break words the same way as we do in EFIGS so we must have a native speaker review for line break problems after typesetting.

Do you have any more questions for Crista?

PLG Now Offers Mexican Labeling Compliance Services

PLG announces that it has extended its packaging translation and compliance review services for the Mexican Market. Previously, PLG offered compliance review services for Canada only. Mexico is the second largest importer of U.S. goods after Canada, purchasing billions in American electronics, transportation equipment and machinery – and increasingly food products such as beer and cheese.

PLG leverages its rich experiences in Spanish and French translations and in-house Spanish- and French-speaking project managers to offer packaging compliance services for Canada and Mexico.

80% of the labels that PLG translates and reviews are food labels but also offers compliance services for retail and other consumer goods. 

In Canada, food and beverage packaging regulations are set by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. In Mexico regulations (called NOMs) are set by La Secretaría de Economía. For Mexico, a certificate known as Constancia de Verificación (CDV) is required but there is no such certificate issued in Canada. PLG has partnered with private and governmental agencies in Mexico and Canada to supply Canadian/Mexican labeling compliance review and the issuance of the Constancia certificate to clients in North America.

For more information about PLG’s Canadian Compliance Services, please visit: http://www.plg-online.com/canadian_compliance.html

For more information about PLG’s Mexico NOM Compliance Services, please visit: http://www.plg-online.com/compliance_services_mexico.html