Anybody know where I can download a PDF or EPS color chart with all of the current pantones on it to print for reference.
You don't want a PDF or EPS color chart. There are color shifts with these two formats, subtle with PDF, hideous with EPS, that will confound you.
Out of curiosity, why does this occur? Isn't the point of Pantone colors to be able to hit a specific color without worrying about other factors? I guess what I'm asking is, if your printer or RIP is equipped to handle Pantones, why would the format of the file affect the output color? Shouldn't the RIP or printer see "Pantone C278" or whatever and recognize that, "hey, that's the color I need to hit for that, let's pull the values from the Pantone library and get to work"? Obviously the type of media you print on and the profile you use can cause a shift, but how do different file formats cause a shift before it even essentially hits the media? Aren't Pantones supposed to be an "it is what it says it is" type deal? Sorry if these are stupid questions, color management is really not my strong suit.
I have on my wall a Pantone color chart created and printed in Flexi. Along side that chart is another created by saving that same chart as a PDF and then printing it. The differences in color are many and obvious.
I haven't spent a lot of time contemplating why this should be the case. Regardless of why, it exists. I merely deal with it based on the fundamental principle that what comes out of the printer is the truth.
You don't want a PDF or EPS color chart. There are color shifts with these two formats, subtle with PDF, hideous with EPS, that will confound you. You want a native color chart. That would be a chart created and printed with whatever software you're using.
If you're using Flexi, it's a relatively simple thing to create but it's huge. You can perform some really clever editing, mainly of the color names, and get it down to somewhere around 2'x3'. I did and have a very satisfactory chart I can print on any media.
I'm sure it's doable in other packages as well. Just how you do it depends on the package.