What Is A Comp Card?

A comp card is short for ‘composite card' and is also widely known as a ‘z card' or ‘set card' and even as zed card. According to Wikipedia, comp card printing is a marketing tool used mostly by actors, models and agents to represent them every time they go out for casting purposes. They are an inexpensive yet effective marketing tool to showcase a model's capabilities.

A comp card therefore is sort of a business card for these people.

Comp card printing started in 1965 by a Londoner who created model composites printed on A4 paper. The designer then registered the Trade Mark "Model Composite" in both Europe and the United States. The format was then revamped in 1972 to give way to an A5 card format. This made it easier to file the composites by the modeling agencies. A few other companies also started to print comp cards for the model industry. In 1990, Marlowe Press (from the name of the first creator of comp cards) stopped trading and comp cards then became generic words in the modeling world. In recent years, creation tools for comp card printing became widely available online.

A print comp card usually has a minimum of two pictures. It includes a cover page with a full size portrait of the model, and another page where you will find a selection of photos and shots to complete the model's portfolio. The second page also includes the model's statistics, e.g. height, weight, sizes of the bust, waist hips, eye and hair color, nationality, and primary contact information. Typically, these are printed on both sides of a card stock measuring 8.5" by 5.5".

So how do models and casting agents print comp cards? At present, there are different options available in creating comp cards. They can either ask their photographer or do it on their own. They can also use today's software programs to edit and enhance the selection of images for these cards. There are graphic software available online and offline which any model or agent can use to showcase their abilities.

Finally, there are also many printing companies that use today's technologies to create digitally enhanced custom comp cards, as well as facilitate the printing and ordering process. Comp card printing costs vary depending on the tools used and the number of pictures included on the card. The type of card stock can also influence the price, as well as the printing quality of the cards.