FAQ

General

• Q

  What kind of manuals do you support?
  (What kind of manuals can you produce?)
  (Can you create manuals for specialized fields?)
  A

  Our staff with expertise in various fields such as IT, software, industrial machinery, medical equipment, and general consumer electronics will support you in creating manuals. We also support creating operations manuals.
  We are confident in our experience in manual production for over 30 years. Feel free to contact us. Manual production

• Q

  Can you create manuals in languages other than Japanese?
  A

  Yes. We provide English-Japanese and Japanese-English technical translations, multilingual translations in over 50 languages, and DTP required for the production. We provide a one-stop, speedy service for global content production. Translation

• Q

  Can you create manuals that comply with laws and standards?
  A

  We will evaluate the conformity of product manuals to various safety standards (e.g., JIS, ISO, IEC, ANSI, EN, SEMI, ASTM, GB, and GBT) and reflect the results.
  In the medical field, we also support the conformity assessment of various standards, including the IEC 60601-1 series, and reflect the requirements to IFUs in accordance with the transition from the MDD (European Medical Device Directive) to the MDR (European Medical Device Regulation).

• Q

  Can you create a video manual along with a paper manual?
  A

  We support different media of manuals, including paper, PDF, e-learning, and video manuals. Our one-stop service enables single-source, multi-use development. We also produce web manuals, online help, e-learning, maintenance videos, and other types of manuals. Feel free to contact us for more information. Multimedia

• Q

  How is information security handled?
  A

  We will sign a Non-Disclosure Agreement (NDA) upon receiving your request. All of our staff adheres to strict internal rules for handling provided materials, documents, and processed data.

• Q

  Is it possible to consult you via a web meeting?
  A

  Yes. Nowadays, web meetings have become the mainstream. Let us know your preferred date and time to arrange one.

Translation

• Q

  Can I request translations at the same time as manual creation?
  (Can I request manual creations in Japanese and simultaneously create manuals in multiple languages from English?)
  A

  Yes.
  We provide one-stop service from manual writing, DTP, illustration creation, and multilingual translation (over 50 languages) to comply with laws and standards.
  In addition to paper/PDF manuals, we create other types of content such as web manuals, online help, video manuals, e-learning, and parts lists.
  Also, feel free to contact us for spot services.

• Q

  What languages do you support for translation?
  A

  We support translation and native checks for 46 European and American languages, 26 Asian languages, and 6 Middle Eastern and African languages. The followings are just a few:
  English, French, Italian, German, Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Slovak, Ukrainian, Bulgarian, Croatian, Estonian, Greek, Latvian Lithuanian, Romanian, Serbian, Turkish, Vietnamese, Thai, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Korean (Hangul), Indonesian, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Others.
  We also conduct research on and work to comply with the laws and standards of each country. Contact us for more information. Translation

• Q

  How much will the translation cost?
  A

  The cost is calculated as "source word count" x unit price. The unit price varies depending on the target product, the manual, and the use of CAT (Computer Assisted Translation) software.
  Since it is also affected by the exchange rate and checking methodology, we provide a quotation on a requested basis. Quotations are free-of-charge. Feel free to contact us.

• Q

  We are considering translations in a large volume. Are there any ways to keep the cost low?
  A

  We use a CAT tool called TRADOS for our translations. We provide high-quality translations with excellent cost performance for large-volume technical translations by linking TRADOS with various DTP software (Word, Excel, InDesign, FrameMaker, etc.). By creating a database of existing translations as translation memory, costs can be reduced when revising manuals and can maintain their quality.
  We also support AI automated translations and post-editing.
  Feel free to contact us.

• Q

  Can you handle large-volume translations and DTP?
  A

  Yes. We provide translations and DTP for manuals for industrial machinery and technical documents for medical equipment.

• Q

  What areas of translation do you support?
  A

  We have translated more than 10,000 documents, mainly in the fields of industrial machinery and medical equipment, but also in IT and various types of software. Feel free to contact us.

• Q

  Do you translate technical documents into English and conform with MDR (Medical Devices Regulation)?
  A

  We have been providing English translations of technical documents for primary and many other medical device manufacturers.
  We also provide DTP for putting Japanese and English text side by side.

• Q

  Do you support translations complying with medical device laws and standards?
  A

  We provide one-stop service from preparing IFUs and appendixes complying with laws and standards for medical devices to their multilingual translations. We have a database of major standards for medical devices. We will utilize it to translate the technical documents required for MDR and IVDR into English and other languages.

• Q

  Do you support native checks of multilingual translations?
  A

  We support native checks for 46 European and American languages, 26 Asian languages, and 6 Middle Eastern and African languages.
  Native speakers of each language proof the multilingual translated content, and upon request, we can verify the content under the operating system of that language.

• Q

  Do you provide native checks for specialized fields?
  A

  For Japanese and English technical translations, we conduct a full review by editors having expertise in such fields to ensure that the expressions are natural. For multilingual translations, we run double-checks by native speakers of the language and the field to ensure accuracy and quality.

• Q

  Can you use a translation memory that I already have?
  A

  Of course!
  We use a CAT tool called TRADOS for our translations. But we can also support other CAT tools upon request.

Manual production

• Q

  Do you create maintenance manuals? What kind of manuals do you support?
  A

  （E.g. For the field of industrial machinery) We support creating operation manuals, maintenance manuals, safety manuals, installation manuals, and parts lists (technical references).

• Q

  Can you evaluate the quality and work on improvements if we provide an existing manual?
  A

  Yes. By conducting quantitative and qualitative assessments of the quality of existing manuals, we will clarify the action priorities and work on improvements efficiently.

• Q

  I am wondering about creating an operations manual. What are their advantages?
  A

  Everyone can perform that operation by creating an operations manual and serving as a bible during personnel changes and emergency responses.
  We can run process analysis of your current operations to help you streamline your operations, review them, and identify risks. Feel free to contact us. Operations manual production

• Q

  What materials are required for a manual production?
  A

  Please prepare as much as possible for new products, including specifications, promotional materials, internal documents, actual equipment, photos, and screenshots.
  For revisions, please provide existing manuals in addition to the above.
  Even if the above is unavailable, we can proceed through interviews and hearings.

• Q

  How much will the manual production cost?
  A

  Costs vary depending on the product, the manual, and the nature of the work. Quotations are free-of-charge. Feel free to contact us. We will make proposals within that budget if you have a fixed budget.

• Q

  How long does it take to produce a manual?
  A

  It varies depending on the product, the manual, the volume, and the nature of the work. It usually takes at least a month and, on average, two to three months. We will do our best to meet your needs. Feel free to contact us.

• Q

  Can you create manuals in languages other than Japanese?
  A

  Yes. We provide English-Japanese and Japanese-English technical translations and multilingual translations in over 50 languages. We will provide speedy global content production services. Translation

DTP

• Q

  Can I request only DTP?
  A

  Yes.
  Whether you need a booklet of a few pages or a voluminous manual, our expert DTP operators familiar with various applications will respond quickly.

• Q

  What DTP applications do you support?
  A

  We support a wide variety of applications.
  The followings are just a few:

  • Adobe InDesign
  • Adobe FrameMaker
  • Adobe Illustrator
  • Adobe Photoshop
  • MS Word
  • MS Excel
  • MS PowerPoint　and others

Multimedia

• Q

  I want to produce a video manual. What type of work do you support?
  A

  For video manuals, we provide one-stop services from planning to scenario writing, thumbnail creation, creation of illustrations and flowcharts, and shooting and editing photos and videos. We can also create videos for beginners to experts on how-to’s on apps and products and develop them in multiple languages.

Manual evaluation and analysis

• Q

  I want to improve an existing manual. What kind of analysis can you provide?
  A

  We will evaluate your manuals from the following perspectives and provide consulting services for improvement:

  • Conformity assessment to international standards (IEC82079-1)
  • Conformity assessment to laws and standards that vary by country of shipment and by product
  • Identification and analysis of issues within the manual
  • Comparative analysis with manuals of competitors

  We also offer a service called "Manual Dock2" (patented business model), allowing our clients to conduct their own objective manual evaluations. Click here for more information on Manual Dock2.

• Q

  What is Manual Dock2?
  A

  Manual Dock2 is a quantitative and qualitative evaluation system for manual quality using cloud computing. By numerically scoring all evaluation items, you can visually check the evaluation results and changes in the score through rankings and graphs. Click here for more information on Manual Dock2.

• Q

  What are the benefits of using Manual Dock2?
  A

  Some of the benefits of Manual Dock2 include:

  • Can run self-evaluations on your manuals.
  • Can run evaluations from anywhere, anytime, by simply answering questions on the cloud.
  • Can run conformity evaluations of instruction manuals to the IEC82079-1 international standards.
  • No time and cost are required for the evaluation.
  • Clarifies points for improvement.
  • Allows comparison with manual quality averages of competitors.
  • Can maintain manual quality through periodic evaluation.
  • Can see the impact of improvements through before-and-after evaluations.

  Click here for more information on Manual Dock2.

Enterprise risk assessment services

• Q

  I want to run a company-wide risk assessment, but cannot afford the cost and time. How can I get started efficiently?
  A

  We recommend using our unique corporate risk evaluation system, "i-CRAS2" (patented business model).
  i-CRAS2 is a service that allows you to evaluate company’s potential problems and risks by simply answering questions. After the evaluation, the risk issues are extracted into a list with comments on their resolutions, significantly reducing the cost and time required for risk assessment. Click here for more information on i-CRAS2

• Q

  What is i-CRAS2?
  A

  i-CRAS2 is a service supporting company-wide risk assessment and countermeasure development using cloud computing. By numerically scoring all risk items, you can visually check the evaluation results and changes in the score through rankings and graphs. Click here for more information on i-CRAS2

• Q

  What are the benefits of using i-CRAS2?
  A

  i-Some of the benefits of i-CRAS2 include:

  • Can run self-evaluations on the company-wide risks.
  • Can run evaluations from anywhere, anytime, by simply answering questions on the cloud.
  • Can run evaluations fit to your industry.
  • No time and cost are required for the evaluation.
  • Clarifies risk items to take measures.
  • Allows comparison with market segment averages, industry averages, and historical data.

  Click here for more information on i-CRAS2

Regulatory research

• Q

  Do you support research on country-specific regulations of medical devices?
  A

  We work with research companies and certification bodies to run regulatory research on medical devices in different countries.
  We also support the conformance of different documents such as IFUs to different regulations.

• Q

  Do you support research on country-specific regulations of consumer devices?
  A

  We work with research companies and certification bodies to run regulatory research on consumer devices in different countries.
  We also support the conformance of different documents such as manuals to different regulations.