Now certified as "Small Woman-Owned Business"

With US Small Business Administration. See our profile here.

NAICS code 56440

PSC Code: R603

Find us in the credits of new PBS documentaries!

Now streaming for free through September 16, you can see "As Goes Janesville" by Kartemquin Films. Also check out the newly released, "All the Difference," airing last Monday on POV, by Chicago filmmaker Tod Lending and editor Melissa Sterne. See it streaming here.

Recent and ongoing clients include:

Wirtz Beverage & the Chicago Blackhawks, Chicago History Museum, Imagination Publishing, c/change, University of Texas Medical Branch Galveston, Northwestern University, Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, the University of Chicago, City of Evanston, Logan Square Neighborhood Association, John Marshall Law School, and many more.

Now offering CITI-certified transcriptionists for academics

That is the Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative test, in Human Subjects research, including "Social-Behavioral-Educational Focus" and Social-Behavioral-Educational Basic."  That is in addition to other pre-existing IRB certifications held.

One of our main specialties for the past 20 years has been academic transcription. We feature transcriptionists with advanced college degrees and hundreds of hours of experience transcribing qualitative interviews for universities across the country. One of our major clients is Northwestern University, here in Evanston, with whom we are a preferred vendor. Other universities we have worked with regularly include virtually every one in the Chicago area, plus Stanford, Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Massachusetts.

Now Offering Translation in More Than 75 Languages!

We are forming a new partnership with another established, small woman-owned company in the Chicago area, which specializes in high-quality translations (with transcription available). This expands our current transcription focus on English and Spanish to a more worldly array, including German, French, Arabic, Russian, Hebrew, Polish, Chinese, and Japanese. Email or call Paula to get a quote.

Huffington Post Endorses Transcription Professionals!

In a February article about office-support careers, the Huffington Post features one transcription service in the U.S.:  Transcription Professionals!

TP a Proud Donor to Chicago Women's History Project

We are transcribing oral histories for the new project of the Chicago Area Women's History Council, "Documenting Women's Activism and Leadership in the Chicago Area 1945-2000."  The project "takes a long view of Chicago women's activism including women's participation in the labor movement, community organizing, neighborhood initiatives, the peace movement and religious groups agitating for change."

Transcriptionist Amy Krueger Wins First Place in Essay Contest

From the 2014 Illinois Court Reporters Association competition, and wins scholarship!

New Feature: IRB-Certified Staff

For our academic clients, we now feature transcriptionists who are Institutional Review Board-certified for "Protecting Human Research Participants" with the National Institutes of Health.

Recording Tips for Terrific Transcripts

TEN TAPING TIPS FOR TERRIFIC TRANSCRIPTIONS

You make the commitment of arranging and making the recordings (and not to mention, shelling out for transcription), so you might as well record clearly and end up with the most complete transcript possible. Here are some recording tips to consider along the way.

1. This may be glaringly obvious, but we’ll still say it: digital recorders are always better than the old-fashioned tape recorders–for delivering the best sound quality, and for easy backup and transfer of audio. (But, yes, we still take tapes.) The technology changes so often that it’s difficult for us to recommend one specific model of digital-recorder. But the latest Olympus model is often a good bet. And do make sure that it has a USB connector to be able to upload audio to your computer, so you can, in turn, upload it to the transcriber. (You want to avoid the extra cost of having to ship us your recorder–which many clients have had to do for us to obtain the audio.

2. Do not record phone calls from a speaker phone. Most often, the second-hand sound comes out very badly on a recorder, even if the sound from the speaker phone sounds clear to you as you are hearing it. Software options change constantly, but we have heard positive reports about recording phone calls from Skype or on smartphones. For a Skype recording, of video or just audio, you can use the Ecamm call recorder.

   (As far as smartphones, a recommended app for Android is “Record My Call.”

   And for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Hindenburg Systems currently offers Field Recorder.

   Just make sure that these recording programs enable you to transfer the recording file to your computer as a MP3 or .wav file, so you can upload it to the transcriber.)

3. If the recorder has a built-in mike (and you don’t use a lapel mike), the recorder should be propped up so the mike faces the interviewee, not the ceiling.

4. Keep the recorder away from any equipment, such as an old laptop computer, which contains a motor and can cause a very distracting buzzing sound on the recording.

5. Be aware that sirens, traffic, phones ringing, papers being rustled on a table all are picked up by the microphone and can obscure the dialogue.

6. Battery-operated recorders are risky. A dying battery causes fluctuations in the speed at which something is being recorded, and that causes distortions in the sound on playback.

7. The recorder should be tested before each interview to make sure the tone, volume, and microphone placement are set to produce the clearest sound.

8. Introduce the subjects (or have them introduce themselves) in the beginning so the transcriber can recognize their voices, know the number of speakers, etc.

9. The interviewer must be vigilant about encouraging the subject to speak up if they fade, to give an oral response instead of nodding, so that the recorder picks up everything.

10. When possible, record in small rooms, versus someplace cavernous like a lecture hall. The walls and ceilings of small rooms help contain and channel sound into the recorder. It’s amazing the difference this often makes!

Ten Taping Tips for Terrific Transcriptions

You make the commitment of arranging and making the recordings (and not to mention, shelling out for transcription), so you might as well record clearly and end up with the most complete transcript possible. Here are some recording tips to consider along the way.

This may be glaringly obvious, but we’ll still say it: digital recorders are always better than the old-fashioned tape recorders–for delivering the best sound quality, and for easy backup and transfer of audio.  (But, yes, we still take tapes.) The technology changes so often that it’s difficult for us to recommend one specific model of digital-recorder. But the latest Olympus model is often a good bet. And do make sure that it has a USB connector to be able to upload audio to your computer, so you can, in turn, upload it to the transcriber. (You want to avoid the extra cost of having to ship us your recorder–which many clients have had to do for us to obtain the audio.
 Do not record phone calls from a speaker phone. Most often, the second-hand sound comes out very badly on a recorder, even if the sound from the speaker phone sounds clear to you as you are hearing it. Software options change constantly, but we have heard positive reports about recording phone calls from Skype or on smartphones. For a Skype recording, of video or just audio, you can use the Ecamm call recorder.

As far as smartphones, a recommended app for Android is “Record My Call.”

And for the iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch, Hindenburg Systems currently offers Field Recorder.

Just make sure that these recording programs enable you to transfer the recording file to your computer as a MP3 or .wav file, so you can upload it to the transcriber.

If the recorder has a built-in mike (and you don’t use a lapel mike), the recorder should be propped up so the mike faces the interviewee, not the ceiling.
Keep the recorder away from any equipment, such as an old laptop computer, which contains a motor and can cause a very distracting buzzing sound on the recording.
Be aware that sirens, traffic, phones ringing, papers being rustled on a table all are picked up by the microphone and can obscure the dialogue.
Battery-operated recorders are risky. A dying battery causes fluctuations in the speed at which something is being recorded, and that causes distortions in the sound on playback.
The recorder should be tested before each interview to make sure the tone, volume, and microphone placement are set to produce the clearest sound.
Introduce the subjects (or have them introduce themselves) in the beginning so the transcriber can recognize their voices, know the number of speakers, etc.
The interviewer must be vigilant about encouraging the subject to speak up if they fade, to give an oral response instead of nodding, so that the recorder picks up everything.
When possible, record in small rooms, versus someplace cavernous like a lecture hall. The walls and ceilings of small rooms help contain and channel sound into the recorder. It’s amazing the difference this often makes!