Forms processing is the act of extracting information from documents after they have been capture. While zonal Optical Character Recognition (OCR) and full page OCR allow for basic, ad-hoc information to be captured, Forms Processing takes this one step further.

Forms Processing software uses histogram technology to determine the form being processed. It then applies a form specific template aiding the extraction of the data from the form. Data extraction may be via OCR for machine print, Intelligent Character Recognition (ICR) for hand written data and Optical Mark Recognition (OMR) for check boxes.

Identifying the form prior to recognition, allows a more accurate data extraction than using an ad-hoc method. Results are automatically processed and a variety of queues can be setup for manual addition of data, validation and quality control.

In the end, similar to Document Capture, the documents and data are released to a document management system, typically called a back-end system.

Note: Forms processing is not limited to documents captured via scanners. Data captured via forms on the Internet as well as via fax servers can also be processed.

Key Advantages of Forms Processing:

• Reduces time and costs associated with data entry.
  Automatically cleans and confirms data with business rules processing, improving productivity.
• Delivers accurate data and documents to back-end systems for storage and faster retrieval than any other method.
• Leverages current system investments enabling easy integration with existing applications and databases.