Industrial Digital Barcode Reader

A slot scanner illumination system comprising:

• a chassis having an optical cavity and a front opening, the optical cavity having an optical axis therethrough, the optical axis being an axis along which light may be received by the chassis through the front opening, and the front opening having a first edge and a second edge opposite the first edge;
• a scanning window configured to at least partially cover the front opening of the chassis, the scanning window having a normal axis orthogonal to a flat surface of the scanning window;
• and
• an illumination element disposed inside of the optical cavity of the chassis at a position recessed from the scanning window, the illumination element disposed proximal the first edge of the front opening, the illumination element configured to provide illumination along an illumination axis, wherein the illumination axis is non-parallel with the optical axis and at an angle directed toward the second edge of the front opening, and wherein the illumination element provides illumination with an illumination angle that is oblique relative to the normal axis of the scanning window.