a hand-supportable housing;

a multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem having image formation optics for producing a field of view (FOV) upon an object to be imaged and an area-type image sensing array for detecting imaged light reflected off the object during illumination operations in either (i) a narrow-area image capture mode in which a few central rows of pixels on the area-type image sensing array are enabled, or (ii) a wide-area image capture mode in which numerous or substantially all rows of the area-type image sensing array are enabled;

a multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem for producing narrow-area and wide-area fields of narrow-band illumination within the FOV of said image formation and detection subsystem during narrow and wide area modes of image capture, respectively;

an image capturing and buffering subsystem for capturing and buffering 2-D images detected by said multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem;

an image-processing based bar code symbol reading subsystem for automatically processing images captured and buffered by said image capturing and buffering subsystem and reading one or more 1D and/or 2D bar code symbols represented in said images;

an IR-based object presence detection subsystem for producing an IR-based object detection field within the FOV of said multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem; and

a manually-actuatable trigger switch for generating a trigger event within said hand-supportable digital imaging-based bar code reading device; and

a system control subsystem for controlling and/or coordinating said subsystem components in accordance with a method of controlled subsystem operation;

wherein upon automatic detection of an object within said IR-based object detection field, said IR-based object presence detection subsystem automatically generates an object detection event and in response thereto, said multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem automatically produces a narrow-area field of narrow-band illumination within the FOV of said multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem; and

(A) upon the generation of said trigger event by the user depressing said manually-actuatable trigger switch, the following operations are automatically carried out:

(i) said image capturing and buffering subsystem automatically captures and buffers a narrow-area digital image of the object using said narrow-area field of narrow-band illumination within the FOV, during said narrow-area image capture mode of said multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem, and

(ii) said image-processing based bar code symbol reading subsystem automatically processes said narrow-area digital image in effort to read a 1D bar code symbol represented in said narrow-area digital image, and upon successfully decoding a 1D bar code symbol in said narrow-area digital image, automatically produces symbol character data representative of said 1D bar code symbol; and

(B) upon said multi-mode image-processing based bar code symbol reading subsystem failing to successfully read said 1D bar code symbol represented in said narrow-area digital image, the following operations are automatically carried out:

(i) said multi-mode LED-based illumination subsystem automatically produces a wide-area field of narrow-band illumination within the FOV of said multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem,

(ii) said image capturing and buffering subsystem captures and buffers a wide-area digital image during said wide-area image capture mode of said multi-mode area-type image formation and detection subsystem, and

(iii) said image-processing based bar code symbol reading subsystem processes said wide-area digital image in effort to read at least one 1D and/or 2D bar code symbols represented in said wide-area digital image, and upon successfully decoding at least one 1D and/or 2D bar code symbols in said wide-area digital image, automatically produces symbol character data representative of said at least one 1D and/or 2D bar code symbols.