An imager is a Barcode Scanner that really functions more like a digital camera than a laser scanner, and is capable of reading two-dimensional symbologies. Rather than bouncing one or several beams of intense light off of a barcode, the imager bounces a burst of light off of the barcode and back into a camera-like eye, essentially taking a picture. Unlike a laser scanner the imager does not need the barcode to be oriented in anyway (other than within the scan area) in order to be legible.