The opening letters: an identical rasm in every tradition
Twenty-nine suras open with isolated letters (14 combinations: الم, الر, حم, طسم, كهيعص…). In every reading tradition compared, these letters have exactly the same rasm, whereas verse numbering and added signs differ. The translation renders them letter by letter, the same way everywhere.
The comparison covered the first verse of the 29 suras in nine reading traditions (Hafs, Warsh, the Indo-Pakistani nastaliq edition, Qalun, al-Bazzi, Qunbul, al-Duri, al-Susi, Shu'ba). The 29 openings are identical in rasm; no variant reading touches the letters. The differences are limited to the writing of the hamza (Warsh ألم), the superscript alif, signs of prolongation, and verse division (Hafs counts الم, كهيعص, طه, طسم, يس, حم as verses; Warsh does not).
Even the micro-variants between openings are preserved everywhere: طس (27) against طسم (26, 28), المص (7) and المر (13) against الم and الر, حم عسق (42) against حم. These are the only places in the Qur'an where recitation spells out the letters of the rasm instead of reading them as words.
So that the reader sees the same letters return, the translation always names them the same way: one name per letter, separated by full stops, with an underdot for the emphatic letters ("Ṣad", "Ṭa", "Ḥa") and "ʿAyn" for ع; thus ح ("Ḥa") and ه ("Ha") are not confused.
One may draw a reading from this: the transmission of the rasm does not depend on its being understood, and reflection is asked of everyone (4:82, 47:24, 38:29, 54:17). This is an interpretation, not a fact established by the rule.