Build a Document Processing Pipeline

From raw PDFs to structured data: setup, implementation, testing, and deployment.

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Step 1: Environment Setup

DeepSeek-OCR requires a GPU with at least 8 GB . We use vLLM for efficient production serving.

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Step 2: PDF to Images

DeepSeek-OCR processes images, not PDFs. Convert pages first.

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Step 3: Basic OCR

Run DeepSeek-OCR via vLLM with temperature 0 for most output.

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Non-Determinism: Even with temperature=0, outputs may vary between runs. This is a known risk. Always add validation (Step 7).

Step 4: Table Extraction

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Step 5: Full ETL Pipeline

Combine extraction, OCR, table parsing, and loading into a single pipeline class.

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Step 6: Hybrid Routing

Route documents to different backends based on complexity and compliance needs.

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Step 7: Validation

Validate OCR output for , empty results, and repetition.

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Step 8: Deployment with vLLM

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Production Checklist:

  • Health checks and monitoring on vLLM server
  • Validation layer after every OCR call
  • Hybrid routing for cost optimization
  • Audit logging for compliance
  • Retry with different resolution on failure