Signs & Large Format Print
Illustrative visualisationA translation agency rarely has a shop window on the high street. More often it is a room in an office building, a flat upstairs in an old townhouse or an office next to a law firm. Clients usually come once, with a specific matter (a birth certificate, a diploma, papers for an imported car), and need to find you without wandering the corridors. So wayfinding pays off more than big advertising.
The second thing is trust. Clients leave the originals of important documents and want to feel they are in good hands. Proper letterheads, the folder you hand the translation back in, frosted glass so nobody can look at other people’s papers: small things, but they shape the client’s picture of the business. What a letterhead should contain is covered in our guide [letterheads: what to include](/poradnik/papier-firmowy-co-musi-zawierac).
1. The way to the office
Start from the street and walk the route as a client coming for the first time. Wherever they would stop and not know which way to go, a sign or arrow is missing. People look for a particular language, not the agency’s name, so the languages should be visible right from the entrance.
- Sign at the building entrance→3 mm aluminium composite with UV print, approx. €35–55 net per m². Name, languages, floor and unit number. Before installation, ask the building manager about the position and size.
- Direction sign in the stairwell or corridor→A small sign with an arrow by the lift or stairs. In office buildings it is often the one thing clients really miss.
- Door plaque→Printed acrylic on stainless steel stand-offs, approx. €43–60 net per m², stand-offs approx. €2.35 net each. Your sworn translator title and languages right by the door handle.
- Window listing your languages→If the office has street-facing glass, language names cut from vinyl work as a price list and a sign in one. Letter cutting approx. €1.40 net per metre of cut line.
- Opening hours and document collection notice→A sticker on the door with opening hours, phone number and what to do when the office is closed. Spares the nerves of clients who have travelled a long way.
2. Office and client desk
In a translation agency the client sits at a desk with documents that are often personal. Frosted film on a glazed partition gives privacy without blocking light. On the wall, a graphic that says straight away what you do works better than a random picture from a homeware store.
- Frosted film for glazing→Approx. €12–21 net per m². A band at the height of a seated client screens the desk while the room stays bright.
- Wall graphic, e.g. a map of languages→Vinyl wall sticker approx. €6–12 net per m², air-release vinyl approx. €11–19 net per m². Goes onto a smooth wall without bubbles.
- Acrylic holder for price list and leaflets→Stands on the desk or hangs by the door. A client waiting their turn can read the price per page and turnaround time for themselves. We match the size and version to the spot.
3. Documents, correspondence, handing over translations
Clients look at what you hand the translation over in for longer than at your sign. A plain plastic sleeve looks like a copy shop; a branded folder looks like a law firm. For certified translations, regulations decide what the document must contain, and we design the letterhead to leave room for the stamp and signature.
- Letterheads→A4, full colour, 90 g uncoated paper that takes an office printer. 500 sheets approx. €49 net, 1,000 sheets approx. €60 net.
- Printed envelopes→For posting translations and for personal collection. Format and print matched to the letterhead, priced individually.
- Folders for handing over translations→A4, 350 g board with matt lamination. 100 folders approx. €135 net, 500 approx. €270 net, so with the larger run each one costs less than half as much.
- Bilingual business cards→One side in the local language, the other in the language you translate most often. 1,000 double-sided cards approx. €25 net.
4. Business clients and conferences
Regular work comes from companies: manuals, contracts, technical documentation, correspondence with partners. You reach them with a brochure left after a meeting and a small item that then sits on the desk all year.
- Brochure for business clients→Languages, specialisms, turnaround times, how to order. A 6-page DL leaflet, 1,000 copies, is approx. €90 net.
- Roll-up banner for conferences and trade fairs→85 × 200 cm with graphic and bag from approx. €55 net. Useful when you interpret at events or exhibit at industry fairs.
- Desk calendar for clients→200 × 130 mm tent calendar, 50 pcs approx. €28 net, 100 pcs approx. €36 net. It stands on the desk of the person who orders translations.
- Branded pens and notebooks→500 printed pens from approx. €175 net, 100 A5 notebooks from approx. €185 net.
- 01Brief
Description, sizes, site photos and deadline — a few sentences are enough.
- 02Design and quote
Our designers prepare artwork or a visualisation and you get a price.
- 03Approval
You approve the design; for brand colours we provide a proof.
- 04Production
35+ machines in our own plant in Poland: 3.2 m UV print, CNC, laser, 3D, sewing.
- 05Installation or delivery
Own crews and vehicles across Europe, partner network, couriers worldwide.
To start with — an indicative package
A basic set for an agency in an office building or townhouse: signage plus business stationery. Prices from our price list.
| Entrance sign, 3 mm aluminium composite with UV print | approx. €35–55 net per m² |
| Acrylic door plaque + 4 stand-offs (approx. €2.35 each) | approx. €43–60 net per m² + approx. €12 |
| Frosted film for a glazed partition, 2 m² (2 × approx. €21) | approx. €45 net |
| A4 letterheads, 500 sheets | approx. €49 net |
| A4 folders with matt lamination, 100 pcs | approx. €135 net |
| Double-sided business cards, 1,000 pcs | approx. €25 net |
Indicative net prices. Small plaques carry a minimum charge for printing and finishing, and the minimum order is approx. €24 net.
From our experience — what to watch out for
- List your languages on the sign and the door plaque. A client is looking for a German translator, not your company name, and that is what they need to see from the corridor.
- Make the list of languages on the window from cut letters, not one print. When you add a language, you stick on one word instead of replacing all the film.
- Order letterheads on 90 g uncoated paper, not coated. Toner from an office printer can rub off coated paper.
- Order folders in a larger run from the start. At 100 pcs each costs approx. €1.35, at 500 approx. €0.55 net.
- Order client calendars in October and November. A calendar handed out in mid-January ends up in a drawer because another one is already on the desk. More: [company calendars: when to order](/poradnik/kalendarze-firmowe-kiedy-zamowic).