Desktop publishing prices in the UK — from £45 plus VAT for multilingual DTP services.

Multilingual DTP and typesetting prices

Multilingual DTP (desktop publishing, also called typesetting) is priced per page from an editable artwork file, plus VAT, with a £45 minimum charge that covers up to seven pages. Beyond page seven it is £6 per additional page for European languages and £8 per additional page for other languages, with a 5% discount over 20 pages. DTP means inserting your translated text back into your design and delivering a ready-to-print file, in more than 200 languages. Non-editable or scanned files, technical drawings and complex layouts are quoted individually.

Multilingual DTP and typesetting prices

Desktop publishing — DTP, or typesetting — is the stage that puts your translated text back into your design and gives you a finished, ready-to-print file in the same layout. Absolute Translations does this in more than 200 languages, with multilingual design teams working in their own language sets. This is where a specialist matters most: many languages cannot simply be dropped into an existing layout by a designer who does not read them, and getting it right is the difference between a professional result and one that looks wrong to a native reader.

DTP is priced per page from an editable artwork file (such as InDesign or fully editable Illustrator), plus VAT, with a minimum charge for short jobs:

What you need	Price
Minimum charge (covers up to 7 pages)	£45
Each additional page beyond page 7 – European languages	£6 per page
Each additional page beyond page 7 – All other languages	£8 per page
Over 20 pages	5% volume discount

All prices are plus VAT. Fully editable Illustrator files are charged at the same rates as InDesign. These rates are for A4 pages with a standard layout; very dense or complex pages, and non-editable or scanned files, are quoted individually (see below).

These desktop publishing prices cover layout and typesetting only, and apply when you already have, or are ordering, the translated text and need the finished artwork laid out for print. If you also need the text translated, translation is quoted separately and can be handled together with the DTP, so you receive one ready-to-print file.

Many companies have in-house designers who can handle popular European languages, but non-Latin languages are a different job — and this is the main reason to use a specialist:

Non-Latin scripts (Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and others) usually cannot be typeset correctly by a designer who does not read the language. Text can break in the wrong place or use the wrong characters, and it looks unprofessional to a native reader.
Right-to-left languages (Arabic, Hebrew) need the whole layout mirrored, not just the words swapped — columns, images and alignment all flip.
Chinese, Japanese and Korean need different fonts, character spacing and line-break rules to read naturally.
Text expansion and contraction — a translation is often longer or shorter than the source, so the layout has to be re-flowed to stay clean rather than overflowing or leaving gaps.

We have the multilingual fonts for these scripts, and the typeset files are checked by a linguist who reads the language before delivery — so text breaks in the right place, reads naturally, and anything that is culturally sensitive or does not look right in the target language is flagged to you rather than printed by mistake. That language expertise is the difference between a file that simply contains the right words and one that a native reader accepts as professional.

Business card typesetting: £40 with artwork supplied, or £45 without artwork (first copy). Additional copies £30 with artwork, or £35 without.
Bilingual side-by-side layout: £5.50 per page, for documents such as contracts where you want the source and translation shown together (line by line or paragraph by paragraph). There is also a free automatic bilingual table from our translation software — a line-per-row draft with no formatting — if you just want to check the translation.
Image recreation: £5 per image, where a picture or graph contains non-editable text that needs to be reproduced in the target language.
Technical drawings (.dwg): from £25 per page — the most specialised DTP work, for engineering and architectural drawings.
Fonts: from £40 per font, where you want the specific font supplied.
PDF outlines: £30 admin fee, which saves the text as outlines so you can view and place it even without the font installed.
Amendments: £30 per hour.

Whether DTP is needed — and what it costs — depends on the files you can provide:

Editable artwork files (InDesign, editable Illustrator): priced at the per-page rates above. This is the cleanest and most cost-effective route, because we translate directly into your design.
Non-editable or scanned PDFs, and files where the original artwork is missing: these have to be rebuilt from scratch, so they are quoted individually once we have seen the file. Sending the file lets us confirm a fixed price.

If you send a PDF for a quote, we can use it to count the pages and check the layout, but for the DTP itself we will usually ask for the editable artwork file so the finished layout is clean.

A 5% volume discount applies to editable-file DTP over 20 pages. Regular clients may qualify for a priority-customer discount instead, and new customers may qualify for an introductory discount; where the priority discount applies, the volume discount is not also applied. All discounts are confirmed in your quote, not automatic.

The usual turnaround for DTP is 1 to 2 days. Larger projects and jobs in several languages take longer; we confirm a realistic date with your quote.

Multilingual design teams working in their own language sets, with the fonts and expertise for Arabic, Chinese, Japanese, Korean and more — a genuine quality and cost advantage over general design studios.
All major artwork files. We work with InDesign, Illustrator, QuarkXPress, Microsoft Publisher and PDF, and deliver ready-to-print files in more than 200 languages. See the languages we cover on our languages page.
Checked by a linguist who reads the language. Before delivery, the typeset files are reviewed by a language specialist, so nothing breaks in the wrong place and anything culturally sensitive or incorrect in the target language is flagged to you.
Professional standards. Produced under ISO 17100, and we work to ISO 9001. We are an ATC member.
Trusted since 2001 and highly rated on Trustpilot.
Secure and confidential. Handling is GDPR-compliant, with linguists under confidentiality agreements.

You can read more about how the service works on our multilingual DTP services page.

To confirm a fixed price and turnaround, it helps to have:

the editable artwork files (InDesign, Illustrator and so on), or the PDF if that is all you have;
the number of pages;
the target language(s);
whether you already have the translation or need it done too;
whether you need any images recreated or a bilingual layout;
the final format you need for print;
your deadline.

Uploading a file does not commit you to ordering.

These examples show how per-page DTP pricing adds up; your own quote depends on the number of pages, the language and the complexity of the layout. Prices are plus VAT and shown before any confirmed discount.

Project	Pages / files	Language	Price (+VAT)	Why
Product brochure (InDesign)	6 pages	French	£45	Minimum charge (up to 7 pages)
Marketing brochure (InDesign)	12 pages	German	£75	£45 minimum (covers 7) + 5 × £6
Catalogue (InDesign)	20 pages	Arabic	£149	£45 minimum (covers 7) + 13 × £8
Contract, bilingual side-by-side	10 pages	Spanish + English	£55	£5.50 per page (bilingual layout)
Business card	1 design	Japanese	£40	With artwork supplied

These are illustrative figures calculated from our rate card. Discounts are confirmed in the quote, not applied automatically.

If you need the document translated as well as typeset, see our translation prices; we can translate and typeset together so you receive a ready-to-print file in the target language.

How much does multilingual DTP cost?

Multilingual DTP costs a £45 minimum that covers up to seven pages, then £6 per additional page beyond page seven for European languages and £8 per additional page for other languages, plus VAT. A 5% volume discount applies over 20 pages. These per-page rates are for editable artwork files, such as InDesign or fully editable Illustrator, with a standard A4 layout, and cover typesetting only, not translation. Non-editable or scanned files, technical drawings and very complex layouts are quoted individually once we have seen them. Send us your artwork files and target languages, and we will confirm a fixed price before you order.

What is DTP (desktop publishing or typesetting), and when do I need it?

DTP, or typesetting, is the stage that inserts your translated text back into your design and delivers a ready-to-print file in the same layout. You need it whenever a translated document has to look like the original — brochures, catalogues, manuals, packaging and branded materials — rather than being delivered as plain text. It is produced in more than 200 languages. It matters most for non-Latin languages, where the script, fonts and reading direction all affect the layout, so the file needs a specialist rather than a general designer.

Why can't my own designer typeset Arabic, Chinese or other non-Latin languages?

Non-Latin languages usually cannot be typeset correctly by a designer who does not read them, which is why companies with in-house designers still send these languages to a specialist. Arabic and other right-to-left languages need the whole layout mirrored, not just the words swapped. Chinese, Japanese and Korean need different fonts, spacing and line breaks, and text can break in the wrong place. Translations are also often longer or shorter than the source, so the layout has to be re-flowed. We have the fonts and native-speaker checks to get it right.

Can you typeset a PDF if I don't have the original artwork file?

Yes, but non-editable or scanned PDFs, and files where the original artwork is missing, have to be rebuilt from scratch, so they are quoted individually once we have seen the file. Where you can provide the editable artwork (InDesign or Illustrator), DTP is priced at the standard per-page rates — a £45 minimum, then £6 per page for European languages and £8 for others, plus VAT. If you send a PDF for a quote, we can use it to count the pages and check the layout, then confirm a fixed price.

How do I get a DTP quote, and how quickly can you do it?

You can get a DTP quote by sending your artwork files, or a PDF, and telling us the target languages, using our quote tool. We confirm the number of pages, the languages and the layout, then give you a fixed price and turnaround before you order; uploading does not commit you to anything. The usual turnaround for DTP is 1 to 2 days, with larger projects and multiple languages taking longer. We confirm a realistic date with your quote.