Quick tip for models. If you’re looking to stay trim and fit (and who isn’t), which exercise machine is right for you? If you’re comparing ellipticals vs treadmills, which should you choose?

Treadmills are great for training runners, and they force you to work harder because you can’t slow down.

Elliptical trainers, on the other hand, are less physically demanding on the body because you don’t have to worry about your feet pounding on the ground. What model wants to have a bum knee…? At the same time, using an elliptical trainer burns roughly the same number of calories as running on a treadmill.

Unless you’re both a model and a runner, stick with the elliptical. It’s easier on the body, burns just as many calories, and will do the job just fine.

Years ago, comp cards were expensive to print, and design methods were limited. Most models lacked the cash to create comp cards, so they started out with a simple 8x10, B&W glossy photo with a thick white border. Vital stats were added to the back in plain text.

I remember those days, printing 50 to 100 copies of the same boring headshot. Over and over again. These 8x10 photos were also relatively costly, and this limited the model when it came to handing out them out. Models usually sent them to agencies who were likely to offer them a job, or to casting agents who were likely to hire them. Models probably missed out on a lot of assignments because they couldn’t afford to give out headshots to just anyone.

Over time, a model would become more successful and earn more money. This would allow the model to create a one-color card created by an offset printer. Only the top models in New York City could afford full color. Offset printing requires a lot of investment up front, but the cost became reasonable if a print run of hundreds or thousands of cards was done. At this point, a model had thousands of cards on hand - and the model could easily afford to give a card out to anyone who might be remotely interested in hiring the model. Printing comp cards was even cheap enough to put in the mail to send to casting agents around the country, extending a model’s reach.

The comp cards of old were a certain way because of the technology and costs involved with printing. This meant a single headshot on the front and a set of pictures, each a quarter of a page, on the back of the card. Space was also saved on the back of the card to include stats for the model and contact information.

Printing technology prevented the images on the back of the card from overlapping in any way, and you couldn’t use any fancy backgrounds or designs. All cards were thus done on a white background, with thick white borders. These borders also allowed the printing press to grip the card as it went through the printing process. They couldn’t bleed to the edge, the way modern cards and designs do. Even though printing technology has come a long way, the cards we use today are still based pretty firmly on this traditional design, which was born of necessity.