Product Catalog Translation That Keeps Your Layout
Upload the InDesign or Excel catalog, choose every language your distributors sell in, and get the same catalog back in each one. One approved name per product, page 2 to page 200.
InDesign files, glossaries and translation memory are on Pro: go straight to Pro, $37.50 a month billed annually. Free includes 5,000 credits a month (5,000 words with Standard AI).
Taia translates product catalogs in the file you designed them in. Upload an InDesign (IDML) or Excel file, pick all your target languages in one project, and download each language in the original layout. A glossary keeps product names consistent, and translation memory brings back approved wording in next year's edition.
A Catalog Is Not a Long Document
It's thousands of short lines, a tight layout, and a new edition every season. Generic translation tools struggle with all three.
Thousands of short lines
Product names, materials, finishes and units, repeated hundreds of times. Translate them one by one and the same finish gets four names. A glossary gives each one a single approved translation per language.
A layout with no slack
Copy-paste translation means rebuilding every page by hand. Taia translates inside the InDesign frames and the Excel cells, so the file comes back laid out, and your designer only adjusts the spots where a longer language needs room.
A new edition every season
Most of the catalog stays the same between editions. Translation memory returns the wording you approved last time, so the review covers the new products and changed prices, not the whole book again.
Translate the File You Designed
No export to a spreadsheet of sentences and no pasting back. The translated file opens in the same program.
InDesign (IDML)
Export IDML from InDesign and upload it. Only the text inside the frames changes, so frames, master pages and styles stay where they were, and linked images stay linked. Pro plan.
Excel (XLSX)
Price lists and spec tables. Cell text and chart labels are translated; formulas, numbers and formatting are left untouched.
Word (DOCX)
Catalogs and brochures built in Word keep their tables, styles and images.
PowerPoint (PPTX)
Product presentations and dealer decks, translated slide by slide in their own layout.
65+ file formats in total. PDFs are converted to editable Word or PowerPoint; for a catalog that must match the original exactly, upload the IDML export.
Every Language in One Project
Upload the catalog
The IDML export, the Excel price list, or both, in one project.
Pick every language
All the markets your distributors sell in, chosen from one list.
AI translates with your terms
Product names from your glossary, approved wording from your memory.
Check it
Colleagues review in Translation Studio, or order professional linguists.
Download every language
One ZIP, a folder per language, each catalog in its original layout.
What It Costs
AI translation on a subscription, linguists per word when a market needs them.
Pro plan
$37.50 a month
Billed annually ($450 a year)
- 100,000 credits a month (100,000 words with Standard AI)
- InDesign (IDML) and every other file format
- Glossaries, translation memory and Advanced AI
- Translation Studio for your team's review
Professional translation
$0.07–0.17 per word
Depending on tier and language pair
- Native linguists, with your glossary and memory
- ISO 17100 on the Enhanced and Ultimate tiers
- Memory matches and repetitions billed at a discount
- Instant quote and delivery date before you order
Catalogs are usually one part of the job. See how manufacturers translate manuals, datasheets and contracts too →
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you translate an InDesign catalog?
Yes. Export the catalog from InDesign as IDML (File, Export, InDesign Markup) and upload it on the Pro plan. Taia translates the text inside the frames and returns an IDML file with the same frames, master pages and styles. Some languages run longer than English, so have your designer check frames where the text is tight.
What happens to formulas and numbers in an Excel price list?
They stay exactly as they are. Formulas and numbers are never translated. Cell text and chart labels are, while cell formatting, sheet tabs and chart structure stay as they were, so prices and calculations still work in every language.
How do product names stay the same across the whole catalog?
Put them in a glossary once, with the approved translation for each language, or the same spelling everywhere for names that should never change. Taia applies the glossary whenever it translates and reviewers see the approved term in the editor, so each product keeps one approved name from page 2 to page 200, in every language.
We publish a new edition every year. Do we start over each time?
No. Your translation memory stores every sentence your team approved. Next edition, the text that has not changed comes back in the approved wording, so reviewers only check what is new. AI translation still uses credits for every word; on professional translation, memory matches are billed at a discount.
Can we translate the catalog into all our languages at once?
Yes. Upload the catalog once and choose every target language in the same project. Taia translates them all in one run, and you download one ZIP with a folder per language, each holding the catalog in its original format.
We only have the catalog as a PDF. Does that work?
It does, with a caveat. A PDF is converted to an editable Word or PowerPoint file, translated, and returned in that format, with the layout kept in most cases. For a catalog that has to look exactly like the original, upload the InDesign export (IDML) instead.
What does catalog translation cost?
AI translation on the Pro plan is $37.50 a month billed annually, with 100,000 credits a month (100,000 words with Standard AI), glossaries, translation memory and InDesign support. Professional translation by native linguists runs $0.07–0.17 per word depending on tier and language pair, with an instant quote before you order.
Try It on Last Season's Catalog
Upload the IDML or the price list, pick two languages, and see what comes back.