How Much Does Document Conversion Really Cost?
A Guide to Conversion Cost Variables
Data Conversion Laboratory, Inc.

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Whether to boost efficiency or to maintain compliance with industry standards, organizations are increasingly turning to XML specifications for their documentation needs. XML specifications include general DTDs like S1000D and DITA and industry-specific DTDs like SPL (Life Sciences) and XBRL (Finance)— to name a few.

Common XML DTDs ATA iSpec 2200 S1000D DITA SPL XBRL NLM

But gauging just how much it will cost to convert your documents to XML is no simple task; a multitude of factors interact to determine the per-page price of any conversion project.

Complicating the matter are the various avenues you may pursue in order to get your documentation into XML format. For instance, how do you know when it is best to rewrite, or when automated conversion tools might be your best option?

It seems as though misconceptions regarding conversion costs have discouraged many from reaping the benefits of XML documentation. Too often, document conversion costs are wildly exaggerated, making conversion seem too expensive to be cost-effective. These exaggerated prices stonewall many worthwhile projects and do a disservice to all those who stand to benefit from more efficient, more functional content.

About DCL: In business since 1981, Data Conversion Laboratory, Inc. (DCL) specializes in content reuse analysis and document conversion to XML DTDs. DCL is a trusted vendor in many industries with complex documentation requirements, including Aerospace, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Software, and Telecommunications.

The misinformation regarding conversion costs runs both ways; it's also not uncommon to find those who think that automated conversion tools are magic bullets that allow for perfect conversions to be performed in-house at the push of a button, and for only the cost of the software itself. This too is misleading.

In reality, documentation conversions are neither as costly nor as inexpensive as many people seem to believe. A $0-per-page conversion done with an automated conversion tool is little more than a mirage; even the best conversion tools necessitate considerable investments in other resources before they can yield useable conversion results. Fortunately, the document conversion that costs more than $50 a page is also largely mythical, appearing in only exceptional circumstances (such as high-security military projects).

The pervasiveness of these misconceptions has inspired this paper, which is intended to bust the myths of fantastically expensive (or inexpensive) document conversion prices. This paper’s objective is to serve as a resource for commercial organizations that are planning an XML conversion or trying to determine whether documentation conversion may be a cost-effective option.

How much does conversion actually cost?

Document conversions can range from a few dollars to several hundred dollars a page, but the vast majority of commercial conversions cost the client no more than $3–5 per page.

Note: The prices cited in this paper are for conversions that are not export-controlled; that is, they apply to conversions of data that can leave its country of origin. This would apply to commercial materials and other materials without specific security considerations. For conversion projects that cannot be sent offshore, expect your per-page price to be at least double the per-page prices listed in this paper.

In this paper, we will consider the following:

1. From what kind of source material are you converting?
2. What is your target format?
3. What type of document are you converting?
4. Does your conversion require the review of a content expert?
5. Do you require graphic conversion or content reauthoring?
6. When are automated conversion tools appropriate?
7. What other costs are associated with conversion?

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Consideration #1: From what kind of source material are you converting?

As a rule, the more sophisticated the source format, the cheaper it will be to convert. Simpler source formats like paper and image-only PDF are the most expensive, since they require extra steps to extract text from the documents. On the other hand, source data in a more advanced format, like that found in documents produced by a word processor, does not require these extra steps and will be less expensive to convert.

• Paper, Page Images, and Image-Only PDF. These are the most expensive source formats to convert from because they require the additional production steps of Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and proofreading.
   
• PDF Normal. These are the PDF files usually produced by word processing and publishing systems. Unlike image-only PDF files, which are just scanned images of pages, PDF Normal (also known as “searchable PDF”) files do contain the full text of the document. Since there is no need for OCR and the need for subsequent proofreading is largely eliminated, converting from PDF Normal costs less than converting from paper or images. If the above considerations are the variables that can raise or lower the overall cost of your conversion project, then the three items that follow are the constants—that is, costs associated with every conversion project.