The paint stick, or paint marker, was originally developed for the steel industry in 1934. Steel producers were then using buckets of paint and brushes to mark batch numbers on the steel after processing, but the hot metal would often burn the paint or melt the brushes. Enter Lake Chemical Co., a family-owned business in Elkgrove, Ill. Lake (now La-Co, owner of the Markal brand name) that discovered a way to make heat-resistant paint in a stick, thus eliminating the need for brushes.

Besides the ability to withstand heat, Markal paint markers and paint sticks offer several advantages over a can of paint and a brush, or even other industrial markers, such as chalk, crayons or felt-tip markers. For one, paintstik markers are much neater and less prone to drips and spills. Markal paintstiks can also survive in water, where chalk would wash away, and they are fade-resistant when exposed to sun and wind, unlike lumber crayons. A Markal paintstik or paint marker can handle rough surfaces by filling in the cracks, and can write through oil or dirt, where a felt-tip marker will quickly wear down.