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Comics Publisher INKR Issues Statement on Translation Rates

Comics distribution platform and app INKR issued a statement on Sunday addressing criticisms of the company's translation rates. INKR admitted to paying $0.01 per character for JP-EN translation work, and claims that the rates have since been adjusted to be "on par with the industry average."

The company also responded to accusations that it uses machine translation to undercut translator pay and produce low-quality work. "We created INKR Localize — a specialized software meant to make the process of localizing comics much faster and easier by automating most of the mundane activities, so that the translators and typesetters can focus on what they do best."

According to a demo video showing the software at work, the software automatically transcribes the letters or characters on the page and provides a suggested translation.

INKR launched in April after pirated manga aggregator app Manga Rock shut down its service. When it launched, INKR announced partnerships with Tokyopop, FanFan, Comic Loft, and Tan Comics to publish manga, webtoons, and manhua digitally. Kodansha Comics announced a partnership with INKR in December.

Last month, manga translation and localization company MediBang drew criticism for offering 120 yen (approximately US$1.16) unit price per page as an initial starting price. According to active translators, US$5 per page is closer to industry standard among U.S. manga publishers.

Thanks to StocKIT for the news tip.

Source: Medium (Hieu Tr. Tran)