1. A method for aligning a tape cartridge accessor with cartridges including bar codes stored in cells of a tape cartridge magazine, comprising: applying specular illumination, via an illumination source comprising an infrared light emitting diode (IR LED) disposed on a front of the tape cartridge accessor, to an object expected to include a desired physical feature during calibration; receiving specular reflections, via a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imager disposed on the front of the tape cartridge accessor, from the illuminated object to create an image of the object; applying dynamic image thresholding to the image, via the CMOS imager, to select an optimum gray scale level of the image expected to include the desired physical feature; using bounding boxes, via the CMOS imager, to identify the location of the desired physical feature in the thresholded image; and applying diffuse illumination, via the illumination source, to the bar codes when reading the bar codes.