Until 1557, Plantin's mark was a vine with the words "Vitis Vera Christus" on a banner. After 1557 he adopted the mark he would use for the rest of his life. While Plantin varied the style of his mark over the years, some elements are always present. These include Plantin's personal motto "Labore et Constantia" (Labor and Constancy), and the symbol of the compass, usually held by a disembodied hand and drawing a circle. The motto and the compass symbol are related, according to Plantin's correspondence: the center point of the compass indicates constancy and the moving point labor. Other elements, such as elaborate borders, foliage, human and animal figures, and architectural shapes, were changed frequently. Occasionally only the compass is shown. After Plantin's death in 1589, his successors continued to use the mark in various forms. The marks shown below are only a sampling of the many variations Plantin used.

Pre-1557

1565
Hadriani Junii Medici Emblemata

1566
Den Bibel Inhovdende Het Ovdt Ende Niev Testament
Flemish Bible; Engraving by Gerard Janssen van Kampen.

1567
Index Characterum

1569-1572
Biblia Sacra (Polyglot Bible)
(Edited partial image)

1572
Orthographiae Ratio

1572
Justi Lipsii Epistolicarum Quaestionum

1573
Decretales Gregorii IX
A composite of three printer's marks, for a collaboratively published book.
Plantin's compass and motto are dominant; in the roundels
are the marks of Jan Steels and Philip Nuyts.
Engraving by Pieter van der Borcht.

1573
Antiphonarii
Plantin's motto is omitted.

1583
Biblia Sacra (Latin Bible)
Engraving by Abraham de Bruyn from art by Crispijn van den Broeck.

1588
Sancti Epiphanius ad Physiologum

1591
El Cavallero Determinado
Engraving by Pieter van der Borcht.

Date unknown