What do the terms IDP vs OCR mean? Read to learn more about these different technologies, their similarities, differences, and examples of how each are used in the workplace.
What is OCR (Optical Character Recognition)?
OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition. It is an automation technology that converts scanned documents, PDFs, and images into machine-readable text. It analyzes an image or document containing printed or handwritten characters and then translates it into editable electronic text. OCR software can recognize various alphabets, numbers, and symbols.
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OCR document processing software is speedy and can extract text from scanned or faxed documents in seconds. OCR software is also very good at extracting text from images but sometimes has a low accuracy rate. It can only periodically remove all of the text from a document. In addition, OCR technology is becoming less and less accurate as more and more documents are created in digital formats.
What is IDP (Intelligent Document Processing)?
IDP stands for Intelligent Document Processing. It is an advanced technology that automates the entire document processing workflow, from document capture and recognition to validation and data extraction. IDP uses artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) algorithms to quickly and accurately convert paper documents or digital images into structured data for various applications.
Unlike OCR, IDP software can extract text from any document regardless of format. This means that it can extract text from scanned documents and images as well as PDFs and digital files. In addition to removing text, IDP software can validate data accuracy, recognize entities in the document, and extract data from unstructured documents.
Since at least 80% of data at enterprise companies is unstructured, using IDP technology to process and analyze it allows companies to do more with their data than ever before.
IDP vs OCR – Differences
When it comes to using IDP vs OCR, IDP technology is much more accurate. IDP can extract information from documents that OCR cannot. Additionally, IDP technology can also interpret the context of a document to extract more information than is possible with OCR. For example, if a document contains both text and images, IDP technology can extract the text from the images and the text in the document itself.
IDP technology is also faster than OCR and can process large volumes of documents in a fraction of the time. Furthermore, while OCR software typically requires manual intervention to correct errors, IDP technology can often self-correct data extraction mistakes.
IDP vs OCR – Similarities
IDP and OCR involve optical character recognition (OCR) technology to extract meaningful text data from images and documents. Both technologies rely on scanning an image or document to create a digital file that software algorithms can then process. The scanned file is then converted into an editable electronic format.
Both technologies can extract text from images and scanned documents, but IDP technology is much more accurate and can extract text from various documents. In addition, both technologies are used to save time and reduce manual data entry errors.
3 Examples of OCR and IDP
1. Processing of invoices
An excellent example of the differences between IDP vs OCR is in the processing of invoices. OCR software may take some time to correct errors due to its limited accuracy manually. However, IDP technology could process an invoice quickly and accurately without manual intervention. IDP technology would recognize the invoice template, extract the relevant data from it, validate that the data is correct, and store it in the appropriate form.
2. Processing web forms
Another example of the differences between IDP and OCR is processing web forms. OCR software may not accurately recognize all fields in a web form, meaning manual intervention is often required to ensure accuracy. However, IDP technology can quickly identify each area in a web form and accurately extract the relevant information. This eliminates the need for manual data entry and significantly reduces errors.
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Capacity’s customized AI Assessments can help:
- Identify opportunities for using AI
- Prioritize use cases that fit your goals
- Build an action plan for implementation
3. Automated process for medical records
Lastly, IDP technology can automate medical records’ entire document processing workflow. Without manual intervention, IDP software can quickly scan multiple documents and accurately extract meaningful data, such as patient’s name, date of birth, diagnosis information, medications prescribed, etc. This speeds up the document processing time, ensures accuracy, and reduces potential errors.
In conclusion, IDP vs OCR isn’t a tough choice. Both technologies have their advantages in terms of extracting text from digital images and documents, but it is clear that IDP technology is more accurate and efficient than OCR in many cases. Furthermore, the ability of IDP technology to recognize entities within a document and its capacity to self-correct errors makes it the preferred choice for automated document processing applications.
What can Capacity do?
Capacity’s Intelligent Document Processing (IDP) offers an easy way to access vital information from files quickly. IDP extracts key details from documents and organizes them into a knowledge base with various ways to access the data, such as downloading in CSV format, adding to a knowledge base, exporting to an app, or integrating with your helpdesk. With advanced machine learning capabilities and continual feedback, IDP is trusted for reliable extraction and accuracy, even for complex documents. Get instant access to the crucial data you need without the hassle of digging through paperwork.
