Multilingual DTP guide

Arabic & RTL typesetting

Right-to-left scripts break the assumptions most DTP workflows are built on. Here is what actually makes Arabic typesetting hard — and how to get it right.

Arabic and other right-to-left (RTL) scripts — Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu, Farsi — need more than a mirrored layout. Letters change shape by position (contextual shaping), text runs right-to-left while numbers and embedded Latin run left-to-right (bidirectional text), and justification uses letter elongation (kashida) rather than only word spacing. Getting these right requires RTL-aware tools and native review, not a find-and-replace of the text.

Why RTL is harder than it looks

Contextual shaping: each Arabic letter has up to four forms (isolated, initial, medial, final); the software must select the right glyph for each position.
Bidirectional (bidi) text: Arabic runs right-to-left, but numerals, units, product codes and embedded English run left-to-right within the same line — the engine must order them correctly.
Justification by kashida: Arabic justifies by elongating connections between letters, not only by stretching spaces, so naive justification looks wrong.
Text expansion: translated Arabic can run longer or shorter than the source, breaking fixed layouts, callouts and tables.
Mixed direction tables and figures: column order, callout leaders and figure labels all flip, and must be rebuilt, not just reflowed.

Tools and workflow

Clean RTL output needs a Middle-East-aware composition engine (for example InDesign with a World-Ready/ME composer) plus fonts with full Arabic shaping, and — critically — native-speaker QA. B2K's “read-free verification” approach proves fidelity by comparing the typeset file against the source element by element, so defects are caught even where the reviewer does not read the language.

Source-matched delivery

For regulated and scientific content, the Arabic file must mirror the approved source page for page. B2K handles RTL and complex scripts as part of multilingual DTP across 40+ languages, delivering print- and web-ready output that matches the source layout.

“Most RTL problems are invisible to anyone who doesn't read the script — a dropped medial form, a number that ordered the wrong way. That is why comparison against source, not reading, is how you actually catch them.”Prashanth Krishna, Practice Head — Content Transformation & Regulatory Operations, B2K

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FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Why is Arabic typesetting more difficult than English?

Arabic letters change shape depending on their position in a word (contextual shaping), text runs right-to-left while numbers and embedded Latin run left-to-right (bidirectional text), and justification elongates letters (kashida) rather than only spacing words. These require RTL-aware tools and native review.

What tools are needed for Arabic DTP?

A Middle-East-aware composition engine such as Adobe InDesign with a World-Ready/ME composer, fonts that include full Arabic shaping and ligatures, and native-speaker quality assurance. A plain LTR DTP setup cannot shape or order Arabic correctly.

Can you keep the Arabic version matching the English layout?

Yes. Source-matched DTP rebuilds the translated file to mirror the approved source page for page, accounting for text expansion, mirrored tables and flipped figures. This is essential for regulated and scientific documents.

Which right-to-left languages do you support?

B2K handles Arabic, Hebrew, Urdu and Farsi among right-to-left scripts, as part of multilingual DTP and localization across more than 40 languages, including other complex and CJK scripts.