Abstract: A target locator having a group of uniquely configured, high contrast elements is displayed adjacent one or more target bar codes for increasing the probability of acquiring a target bar code of interest and extending the range at which a target bar code of interest can be acquired and read. The high contrast locator elements are arranged in a pattern which is unlikely to occur in nature, and the width and spacing of the target locator elements are substantially greater than the comparable bar width and spacing of elements within the target bar code of interest. A comparison of grey scale pixel values is used to validate whether a candidate bar code locator actually corresponds with reference target locator data stored in memory. When the card is displayed adjacent a second bar code of interest, the two bar codes of interest can be scanned within the same field of view.