Translation of product catalogues and technical brochures for distributors

A product catalogue is the distributor's main sales tool and at the same time a technical document by which an engineer selects equipment. This dual nature places special demands on the translation: the headings and descriptions must sell, while the parameters, codes and certification references must be accurate to the millimetre. We translate industrial catalogues, datasheets, technical brochures and product databases with the balance that the market and technical precision demand at the same time.

Which materials fall within this area

• Industrial catalogues: electrical, plumbing, HVAC, tools, building materials, automotive parts and agricultural machinery catalogues.
• Datasheets: electrical, mechanical and thermal parameters, IP and IK classes, dimensional drawings, load curves.
• Technical brochures and presentations: product range overview, fields of application, comparison tables.
• Technical passports and warranty terms that accompany the product.
• Price lists and nomenclature tables in the format exported from ERP and PIM systems.
• E-commerce content: product pages, attribute fields, filter names, CSV and XML feeds.
• Labels and packaging text for the Georgian market.

Why catalogue translation differs from ordinary marketing text

A marketing brochure can be adapted freely. In a catalogue, however, two layers of text merge, and each needs a different approach:

• The technical layer (parameters, units, standards, part numbers, materials) is translated with word-for-word precision. Nothing is "improved" and nothing is rounded here.
• The commercial layer (headings, descriptions of advantages, usage scenarios) is adapted for the Georgian B2B reader in natural, convincing language, without constructions calqued from English.

These two layers are separated at the very start of the project: we agree which elements stay unchanged (product and series names, trademarks, article numbers), which are translated strictly and which are adapted.

Terminology and product taxonomy

A distributor's catalogue contains thousands of items, and the name of every category, subcategory and attribute must be defined once and for all. A "switch", a "circuit breaker" and a "residual current device" are different products, and if they are used inconsistently in the catalogue, the customer orders the wrong product and the website filters do not work. That is why:

• at the start of the project we create a product taxonomy glossary and agree it with the distributor's technical and sales teams;
• the attribute names (voltage, current, power, material, connection type) go in one fixed form into every product card;
• the names of the manufacturer's branded technologies stay unchanged and, where needed, a Georgian explanation is added at the first mention;
• units stay in the SI system, while dimensions given in inches (pipe threads, sheet thicknesses) are given with a parallel millimetre value if the client so requests.

Formats and the annual update

Catalogues are produced in InDesign files, while the product data must reach the website and the ERP system at the same time. Our process serves all three channels from one source:

• InDesign (IDML): we translate directly in the file, preserving styles, tables and linked graphics, then adjust the layout for the length of the Georgian text.
• Excel, CSV, XML feeds: we translate only the text columns, leave SKUs, prices, units of measurement and technical values unchanged, and return the file in the same structure ready for import.
• PIM and CMS systems: we work with export-import files or directly in the system, according to the client's access model.

At the annual catalogue update the translation memory automatically recognises unchanged products, and only new items and changed descriptions are translated. In practice this means that from the second year the volume of an update is a small fraction of the first translation, while the terminology stays identical from year to year.

Legal and certification references in the catalogue

A catalogue often contains statements that carry legal weight: conformity references (CE, RoHS, ATEX), warranty terms, safety warnings, energy efficiency classes. These elements do not belong to the commercial layer and are translated with precision, observing the standard numbers and official names. Georgian legislation also requires that the label and accompanying information of a product intended for consumers have a Georgian version, which we provide together with the catalogue translation.

Typical errors that damage a catalogue's credibility

• naming the same attribute differently in different categories ("rated voltage" and "operating voltage" for the same parameter);
• mixing decimal separators in tables, so that 1.5 kW and 1,5 kW coexist on one page;
• "translating" the name of the manufacturer's branded technology, which makes the product harder to recognise;
• rewriting legal text (warranty, limitation of liability) in a marketing style;
• ignoring the captions on dimensional drawings, so that the table is in Georgian while the drawing stays in English.

Each of these errors is immediately noticeable to a technical reader and reduces the credibility of the whole catalogue. Our editing stage specifically includes checking these points.

SEO and product pages

When the catalogue is also published on the website, the translation determines search visibility as well. In the product category names we use the terms that a Georgian engineer and purchaser actually search for, write unique meta descriptions and preserve the attribute structure that serves the generation of structured data (Product schema). This allows the distributor to outrank the manufacturer's global site in Georgian search.

The certificates of conformity referenced in the catalogue and the product's operating manuals are translated with the same terminology base, which gives the customer uniform terms from the catalogue to the manual.

Frequently asked questions