An imaging-based bar code reader that includes an item guide to guide movement of an item including a target bar code such that target bar code passes through a field of view of the reader in a straight line. The reader further includes an imaging and decoding system to: 1) capture a series of images which include at least a part of the target bar code as the bar code is moved through the field of view of the reader; 2) sequentially analyze the series of captured images, for each captured image, identifying areas of the captured image representative of an image of the target bar code and decode decodable portions of the imaged target bar code; and 3) combining the decoded portions of the imaged target bar code using a sequence stitching method to obtain a full decode of the target bar code.