POSCO Expands Color Steel Sheet Reach Through Art Marketing

POSCO to Hold Exhibition of 'Gujok (口足) Painters' Works from July
Using Posart Steel Plates as Canvas... Also for Cultural Heritage Signage

Exhibition of Three Folk Painters' Works Displayed for Two Months from July at POSCO Gallery

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Yoon-joo] POSCO is strengthening its color steel sheet marketing through art marketing such as art exhibitions and cultural heritage. This is interpreted as an effort to expand sales of relatively profitable color steel sheets as sales of existing products such as automotive steel sheets and shipbuilding plates have decreased since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Since July, POSCO has held the exhibition "Smiles Built Together with Mouth and Foot Painters" for two months at The Sharp Gallery in Gangnam, Seoul, and at the POSCO Construction Songdo Building. This exhibition attracted attention because mouth and foot painters created their works on steel sheets instead of canvases. Mouth and foot painters are artists who, due to illness or accidents resulting in physical disabilities, paint using their mouths and feet.

PosArt is a color steel sheet brand produced by POSCO Steel Sheet, a POSCO affiliate. POSCO decided to hold the exhibition in collaboration with mouth and foot painters because it believed it could prominently highlight the characteristics of PosArt.

PosArt is a high-resolution color steel sheet that combines steel with inkjet printing technology, boasting more than four times the resolution of conventional printed steel sheets. It offers perfect full color, enabling precise design and printing, and can also express a three-dimensional texture on a flat (2D) steel sheet. This exhibition was planned considering that printing artists' works on PosArt steel sheets allows viewers to appreciate the vividness of the original works as they are, without worries about fading from light or damage from rain.

A longevity portrait created using force art layered printing technology. Texture and three-dimensionality were added to various parts such as the jawline and hair.

POSCO did not stop at simply printing works in high resolution like photographs but also paid attention to texture and three-dimensionality. After several meetings with the Gyeongbuk Welfare Center for the Visually Impaired, they produced longevity photos with textures on top of existing photos that visually impaired people can touch. They adjusted the ink thickness to provide texture and embossing effects for a three-dimensional feel.

POSCO is expanding the application of PosArt to cultural heritage. POSCO Steel Sheet is partnering with the youth startup venture company Godam to improve cultural heritage information boards.

Cultural Heritage Information Sign Made Using POSART, POSCO's Color Coated Steel

Existing cultural heritage information boards undergo complicated manufacturing processes such as engraving and acrylic printing. Printing with PosArt allows various embossing expressions and reduces production time to about one-tenth. Thanks to PosMAC, which has about five times higher corrosion resistance than conventional galvanized steel sheets (GI) and serves as the base material, the boards are highly resistant to external stimuli such as rain and wind. Since PosArt can simply be attached over existing boards, replacement is also easy.

POSCO stated, "PosArt has various advantages such as high corrosion resistance, high-resolution three-dimensional technology, and easy replacement, so it is expected to be widely applied in cultural heritage information boards nationwide in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.