Free packaging material mark generator: SVG, PNG

What this mark is

The mark is the number and abbreviation Commission Decision 97/129/EC assigns to a packaging material, and nothing more. It says what a component is made of. Printing it is voluntary under EU law. Article 70(2) of the PPWR (Regulation (EU) 2025/40) repeals the Decision with effect from 12 August 2028. So artwork drawn now will need revisiting when the harmonised label under Art 12 applies.

This generator draws that mark only. What each number means, and where marking it is a legal duty, is on the material code reference.

Sources: Decision 97/129/EC, Regulation (EU) 2025/40.

What the mark is not

The mark is not the harmonised label of Art 12. That label is fixed by Commission implementing acts, and it is not drawn here.

The Art 12 label applies from 12 August 2028, or 24 months after those implementing acts enter into force, whichever is the latest.

The mark is not a recyclability claim. It states what a component is made of. It says nothing about whether your market collects that material.

The mark is not proof that a pack meets Art 6. A recyclability grade is assessed under Annex II, from the design of the whole unit.

Commission Decision 97/129/EC is repealed with effect from 12 August 2028 (Art 70(2)). This mark therefore has an end date.

Sources: Decision 97/129/EC, Regulation (EU) 2025/40.

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Build your mark

Choose the 97/129/EC material, set the colour, then download it as SVG or PNG. Composite parts get the C/ convention. The default gives you the official artwork.

Material

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France requires official Triman/Info-tri artwork from your PRO (producer responsibility organisation). Deposit containers need operator-issued marks, such as DPG (Deutsche Pfandsystem GmbH) and Palpa. The marks here cover 97/129/EC identification only.

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Getting the mark right

Choosing the right material mark: composites, scheme-issued artwork, and SVG versus PNG

SVG for print, PNG for screens

The SVG never turns blurry, so it is the one to send to a printer or place in artwork. Use PNG, at 1024 px or more, only where you need a bitmap. Whichever you pick, set it large enough on the component that the number and the abbreviation stay legible at the printed size.

Set the composite before you export

The generator draws a composite component with the C/ prefix and the abbreviation of its dominant material. So pick the composite entry in the list rather than the plain one, and check the preview before downloading. The generator will not guess which material dominates a part it cannot see.

Marks this generator must not draw

France's Triman and Info-tri block, and every deposit mark, belong to a scheme. The scheme releases them to registered producers. Ask the scheme for the artwork file and place that one. A printed look-alike is an infringement rather than a design shortcut.

PAP 20 vs PAP 21 vs PAP 22

All three codes carry the same abbreviation, PAP. The number is the only part that tells a sorter which fibre it is looking at.

PAP 20: corrugated fibreboard

Code 20 is corrugated fibreboard. That is board with a fluted middle layer glued between two flat liners. It is the shipping box and the outer carton. Collection for it is high across the EU.

PAP 21: non-corrugated fibreboard

Code 21 is non-corrugated fibreboard, the folding carton or product box. There is no fluting in it. Recycling stays high unless the board is plastic-coated. A coated board is a composite, and it takes a C/PAP code from the 80 series instead.

PAP 22: paper

Code 22 is plain paper: bags, wrapping and labels. It recycles well when you keep heavy inks and coatings off it. The code belongs on the paper part, not on whatever the paper is wrapped around.

Which code applies is a question about the board, not about the product. Look at the cut edge of the component. A visible wave means PAP 20. Solid board means PAP 21. A single sheet you could fold like a bag means PAP 22.

A pack often carries more than one PAP code. A corrugated outer box, a folding-carton inner and a paper label are three components, and three codes.

The generator draws the same PAP glyph for all three. Only the number changes, so pick the right code before you export.

Sources: Decision 97/129/EC, the material code reference.

Which countries require the code on-pack

Marking is voluntary under EU law today. Three Member States make the 97/129/EC code mandatory, and two more attach conditions to it.

The duty is national, so one artwork may need the code for one market and not for another.

Italy requires the code on all packaging. Packaging supplied to consumers also states the collection family. In the business channel the code alone is enough (Art 219(5) D.Lgs 152/2006).
Bulgaria requires three marks, not one: the 97/129/EC code, the recycling mark and the separate-collection mark (Наредба за опаковките, чл. 5).
Malta requires the material codes (S.L. 549.43).
Latvia leaves marking optional. If you do mark, the pack carries both the material code and the recyclability symbol. The source is MK noteikumi Nr. 140. MK: Ministru kabinets, the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers.
Lithuania made material identification voluntary in 2021 (Pakuočių įstatymas, as amended by law XIV-287).

Everywhere else in the EU-27 the code is voluntary. The country table gives the duty market by market, with its citation.

Where the mark goes on the pack

Bulgaria places the mark on the heaviest component, or on the label (чл. 5(3)).

Italy asks each hand-separable component to carry its own code and collection wording. A component you cannot separate follows the main body, and it must not carry its own collection line (DM 360/2022). DM: decreto ministeriale, an Italian ministerial decree.

Digital instead of on-pack, in Italy

Italy lets digital channels carry the information instead: an app, a QR code or a website. The pack, or the point of sale, then tells the buyer how to reach it (DM 360/2022 guidelines).