1. A system for optically reading alphanumeric characters including a hand held wand, the combination comprising: a large scale integrated circuit two dimensional array of light sensitive elements in said hand held wand and having a multiple element width and spaced optically to span the widest of said characters and having an element height about three times the element width to produce output signals as said array moves across a field on which alphanumeric characters may appear, means for scanning each element in said array at a scan rate to generate more than one complete set of output signals of a character on the field, a character recognition logic matrix responsive to successive subsets of each complete set of output signals from said array, means to shift successive subsets of output signals from said array through said recognition logic matrix at a shift rate greater than the scan rate to simulate vertical movement of said wand across the field, and control means to cause said recognition logic matrix to attempt recognition of a character at the shift rate for all successive subsets of a character on the field.