Case study
How LightBurn Localized into 25 Languages with Taia’s Workflow—Boosting Efficiency and Quality
- Content type: UI localization, Manuals
- Industry: Software Development
- Company size: SMB
Client Background
LightBurn Software is a leading provider of laser engraving software, known for its intuitive platform that supports a wide range of laser engraver controllers.
With users worldwide, LightBurn was ready to expand its reach by offering its software in 25 different languages, ensuring accessibility and usability for its growing international customer base. However, they faced significant challenges in building an efficient software localization workflow to reach their growing international audience. Managing consistent, efficient, and cost-effective translations, given the complexity of their UI and the technical nature of the content seemed impossible to the team, until they found Taia.
The Challenge
Before partnering with Taia, LightBurn struggled with a fragmented localization process. They relied on multiple translators from different companies, which led to inefficiencies, increased costs, and inconsistent translations.
The lack of a centralized vetting process for translators meant that the quality often varied, and translators frequently misunderstood the technical context, resulting in errors.
Additionally, managing multiple projects across languages was a time-consuming task for their internal team, and it ultimately affected their ability to provide non-English-speaking users with the same quality of experience.
As Adam Haile, Engineering Director at LightBurn, put it: “We were way behind on translations, to the point where the application was primarily in English for most foreign customers.”
The team was considering reducing their supported languages to a handful, as keeping up with the demand seemed unattainable under their previous workflow.
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The Taia Solution
Taia approached LightBurn’s localization needs with a custom-tailored solution. Knowing that LightBurn’s application was built with QT, Taia designed a specialized workflow that leveraged the strengths of QT-specific translation capabilities, including the use of QT Linguist, which allows linguists to review translations directly in the app’s context.
This workflow combined AI-assisted pre-translation, Translation Memory (TM), and a team of expert linguists who could review and validate translations directly within the context of the UI, ensuring technical accuracy and consistency.
One of the key steps in the process was a thorough analysis of the source content, followed by the creation of a comprehensive glossary and list of terminology. This served as the foundation for achieving consistency across all translated versions of the app. By focusing on the preparation of linguistic assets early in the process, Taia ensured that every linguist involved could refer to the same terminologies, which reduced discrepancies and delivered a more polished final product.
Taia’s team also addressed the need to integrate previously translated sections, whether done by LightBurn’s passionate community or their previous Language Service Provider (LSP). These sections were deeply reviewed, proofread, and merged seamlessly into the new translations, maintaining the consistency and coherence of the final product.
Results and Impact
- Increased Efficiency: By consolidating translation management under a single team and leveraging a centralized glossary, Taia reduced the burden on LightBurn’s internal team. Adam shared: “Taia made any of it feel actually possible. We had considered actually dropping down to only 6-8 primary supported languages at one point because it was too much to keep up with otherwise.” Now, LightBurn is fully localized in 25 languages, opening their product to a much broader audience.
- Higher Quality and Consistency: The use of specialized tools, like QT Linguist and AI-assisted pre-translation, combined with internal consistency checks, has greatly improved the quality of translations. “Our domain space is not easy to translate since it requires a lot of technical knowledge. It is good to know that that knowledge is shared internally at Taia for use with our translations,” Adam noted.
- Cost Reduction: Taia’s combination of AI, TM, and human expertise allowed LightBurn to achieve significant cost savings compared to their previous methods, while also receiving higher-quality translations.
- Scalability and Future-readiness: With the API integration in place, LightBurn is now prepared to handle future content changes seamlessly, reducing turnaround times for updates and ensuring they can maintain their release schedule without localization becoming a bottleneck.
“Taia made any of it feel actually possible.”
— Adam Haile,
Managing Director at LightBurn Software AG Switzerland
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Client feedback
Overall, LightBurn’s experience with Taia has been overwhelmingly positive. The communication and attention to detail were highly appreciated by LightBurn, with Adam describing it as “fantastic”. The only suggestion for improvement involved modernizing the feedback and glossary vetting process—moving away from Excel and adopting cloud-based tools like Google Docs to streamline collaboration further.
Adam also expressed that Taia’s responsiveness and support allowed them to stay on track even when the volume of work seemed overwhelming: “Taia made it all actually possible.” He would recommend Taia to other organizations because of the simplicity and value provided compared to the amount of effort required on the client side.
Conclusion
LightBurn’s story showcases how a tailored localization solution—coupling modern AI technologies with human expertise—can transform an inefficient, costly, and fragmented process into a streamlined, cost-effective, and high-quality operation. Taia’s customized workflow, proactive project management, and strategic use of linguistic assets helped LightBurn successfully localize their app into 25 languages, making their software accessible and engaging for users worldwide.
LightBurn is now positioned to continue its global growth, with a localization process that adapts seamlessly to their development cycle, ensuring they remain at the forefront of the laser engraving software industry across the world.
If your software company is struggling to keep up with the demands of localization, Taia can provide a streamlined, scalable solution tailored to your needs.
Ready to take your product global?
Reach out today to learn how we can support your growth.
