If you’re cheap, and using Windows XP and Office 2003 on an ancient laptop, that’s a false economy. Cheap is not good cheap means that you’re unwilling to spend money on a tool that is required in order for your business to thrive.
Frugal is good frugal means that you’re wise with your money. In general, we freelance translators are frugal…sometimes we’re cheap. Lots of students in my classes wonder if they should pre-emptively buy a TM tool, as a selling point to potential clients. It’s a business investment: will this tool help you land new clients, work more efficiently or produce better translations? Then buy it. As a recovering TM resister, I’m here to tell you that that’s misguided. Translators get very emotional about their attachment to, or hatred of, certain TM tools and the companies that make them. It’s important to look at a TM tool as a business investment, not an emotional decision. It’s a bit complicated to learn, it can generate some inscrutable error messages, and it’s a bit bloated for projects like a one-page Word document, but I’m not looking to switch tools. So I bought Trados, hired an individual trainer to help me learn to use it, and was up and running in less than a week.
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At that point, I realized that I had been resisting buying one of the market leaders simply for the sake of resisting (…they won’t get my money, I’ll patch it together on my own, etc. Then, about five years ago, along came a client who offered me a very large, ongoing project that required Trados Studio. I really liked it, and I had sort of vowed to never upgrade to one of the “big guys” because I perceived them as expensive and difficult to learn to use. For years and years, I used Wordfast Classic, which is light, easy to learn to use, and has good documentation and support.
Longer answer: It’s a complicated question.
If you’re buying the TM tool because your clients require it, or because you think it will be a marketing advantage, then buy the one that your clients (or desired potential clients) want.” Short answer: If the TM tool is just for your own use, test-drive a few or ask colleagues about their experiences, then pick the one you like best. They all seem confusing and expensive, and I don’t know where to start.”
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A reader asks: “ How do I choose a translation memory tool? I feel like I need one, but I have no idea how to pick.
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