A comp card (also called composite card, Z card, zed card or Sed card) is a marketing tool for actors and especially models. They serve as the latest and best of a model's portfolio and are used as a business card. A Z-CARD is also a folded leaflet format, typically used for marketing communications campaigns for example a loyalty programme or seasonal promotion.
Peter Marlowe in London invented models composites in 1965, then printed on paper to A4 format. [1] [2] The format was changed in 1972 to A5 card format, for filing purposes, and a few other companies started publishing cards for the model industry under different trade names since Peter Marlowe had registered the trademark "Model Composite" in Europe and the United States. Amongst these was Sebastian Sed who traded under the name Sed Cards, which are sometimes mis-pronounced as Z ("Zed") or Set cards. The publishing house of Marlowe Press stopped trading in 1990 and the words "models composites" and "comp cards" became generic within the model industry. Comp card databases and creation tools have moved online in recent years. [3]
A comp card typically contains a minimum of two pages – a cover page with full size portrait and a second page with a selection of representative shots from the portfolio. It lists the model's basic stats – typically height, weight, three sizes (bust, waist, hips) for women, suit or chest size and waist and inseam sizes for men, plus shoe size, eye and hair color, nationality and contact information. It is printed on both sides of an 8.5" x 5.5" [4] piece of card stock (12 pt stock) (US) or A5 on card weight (350/400 g/m2 stock in metric countries) which is between 300 and 450 μm thick depending on the card stock or quality chosen (Europe, Asia).
Comp cards have been around for many years as the essential marketing tool for a model and are likely to retain this standing because they are an inexpensive way to effectively and professionally showcase a model's ability. Composite cards are used on three major levels – they are used by models, agents and the agent's client.
Currently, models have many different options of creating comp cards. They can ask their photographer or create their own on their computers using image editing or graphics software. In addition, with technology's increasingly strong influence in the digital market, many printing companies have looked to the internet to facilitate the ordering process. Comp card printing prices can vary depending on the number of pictures used on the card, the type of paper stock used, and the general printing quality. Different layout styles are available or can be created.
In the field of computing, a printer is considered a peripheral device that serves the purpose of creating a permanent representation of text or graphics, usually on paper. While the majority of outputs produced by printers are readable by humans, there are instances where barcode printers have found a utility beyond this traditional use. Different types of printers are available for use, including inkjet printers, thermal printers, laser printers, and 3D printers.
A punched card is a piece of card stock that stores digital data using punched holes. Punched cards were once common in data processing and the control of automated machines.
Vector graphics are a form of computer graphics in which visual images are created directly from geometric shapes defined on a Cartesian plane, such as points, lines, curves and polygons. The associated mechanisms may include vector display and printing hardware, vector data models and file formats, as well as the software based on these data models. Vector graphics is an alternative to raster or bitmap graphics, with each having advantages and disadvantages in specific situations.
Post-production is part of the process of filmmaking, video production, audio production, and photography. Post-production includes all stages of production occurring after principal photography or recording individual program segments.
Print on demand (POD) is a printing technology and business process in which book copies are not printed until the company receives an order, allowing prints in single or small quantities. While other industries established the build-to-order business model, POD could only develop after the beginning of digital printing because it was not economical to print single copies using traditional printing technologies such as letterpress and offset printing.
Stationery refers to commercially manufactured writing materials, including cut paper, envelopes, writing implements, continuous form paper, and other office supplies. Stationery includes materials to be written on by hand or by equipment such as computer printers.
Business cards are cards bearing business information about a company or individual. They are shared during formal introductions as a convenience and a memory aid. A business card typically includes the giver's name, company or business affiliation and contact information such as street addresses, telephone number(s), fax number, e-mail addresses and website. Before the advent of electronic communication, business cards also included telex details. Now they may include social media addresses such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Traditionally, many cards were simple black text on white stock, and the distinctive look and feel of cards printed from an engraved plate was a desirable sign of professionalism.
A trade card is a square or rectangular card that is small, but bigger than the modern visiting card, and is exchanged in social circles, that a business distributes to clients and potential customers, as a kind of business card. Trade cards first became popular at the end of the 17th century in Paris, Lyon and London. They functioned as advertising and also as maps, directing the public to the merchants' stores.
A TV tuner card is a kind of television tuner that allows television signals to be received by a computer. Most TV tuners also function as video capture cards, allowing them to record television programs onto a hard disk much like the digital video recorder (DVR) does.
A head shot or headshot is a modern portrait in which the focus is on the person. The term is applied usually for professional profile images on social media, images used on online dating profiles, the 'about us page' of a corporate website, and promotional pictures of actors, models, and authors.
A brochure is a promotional document primarily used to introduce a company, organization, products, or services and inform prospective customers or members of the public of the benefits. Although, initially, a paper document that can be folded into a template, pamphlet, or leaflet, a brochure can also be a set of related unfolded papers put into a pocket folder or packet or can be in digital format.
Web-to-print, also known as Web2Print, remote publishing or print e-commerce is commercial printing using web sites. Companies and software solutions that deal in web-to-print use standard e-commerce and online services like hosting, website design, and cross-media marketing.
Kodak Picture Kiosk is a line of self service photo printing kiosks manufactured by the Eastman Kodak company.
A hockey card is a type of trading card typically printed on some sort of card stock, featuring one or more ice hockey players or other hockey-related theme and are typically found in countries such as Canada, the United States, Finland and Sweden where hockey is a popular sport and there are professional leagues. The obverse normally features an image of the subject with identifying information such as name and team. The reverse can feature statistics, biographical information, or as many early cards did, advertising. There is no fixed size or shape of hockey cards, running the gamut from rectangular to circular, however modern North American cards have typically standardized on a 2.5-by-3.5-inch rectangular format.
Loyalty marketing is a marketing strategy in which a company focuses on growing and retaining existing customers through incentives. Branding, product marketing, and loyalty marketing all form part of the customer proposition – the subjective assessment by the customer of whether to purchase a brand or not based on the integrated combination of the value they receive from each of these marketing disciplines.
Paper models, also called card models or papercraft, are models constructed mainly from sheets of heavy paper, paperboard, card stock, or foam.
A DVD card, also called Business Card DVD, is a DVD with the size and shape of a business card. Much like a traditional DVD, is an optical based media whose primary function is DVD-video playback and data storage. In recent years, the DVD card format has been used in the retail market to distribute sports and entertainment titles. However, leveraging its affinity with business, loyalty and payment cards, the DVD Card has also been used for promotional and marketing purposes.
A collectible card game (CCG), also called a trading card game (TCG) among other names, is a type of card game that mixes strategic deck building elements with features of trading cards. It was introduced with Magic: The Gathering in 1993.
Prizes are promotional items—small toys, games, trading cards, collectables, and other small items of nominal value—found in packages of brand-name retail products that are included in the price of the product with the intent to boost sales, similar to toys in kid's meals. Collectable prizes produced in series are used extensively—as a loyalty marketing program—in food, drink, and other retail products to increase sales through repeat purchases from collectors. Prizes have been distributed through bread, candy, cereal, cheese, chips, crackers, laundry detergent, margarine, popcorn, and soft drinks. The types of prizes have included comics, fortunes, jokes, key rings, magic tricks, models, pin-back buttons, plastic mini-spoons, puzzles, riddles, stickers, temporary tattoos, tazos, trade cards, trading cards, and small toys. Prizes are sometimes referred to as "in-pack" premiums, although historically the word "premium" has been used to denote an item that is not packaged with the product and requires a proof of purchase and/or a small additional payment to cover shipping and/or handling charges.
A flyer is a form of paper advertisement intended for wide distribution and typically posted or distributed in a public place, handed out to individuals or sent through the mail. Today, flyers range from inexpensively photocopied leaflets to expensive, glossy, full-color circulars. Flyers in a digital format can be shared on the internet.