I’ve had some recent questions from friends starting out in graphic design and also clients wanting to know the difference between all the color options and why they look so different depending on how you see them (ex. monitor, print, web, etc.) . When I started to think about the best way to explain this, I randomly looked at a friends blog and found he had answered it!

Check it out Here: http://www.northcountrydesign.us/articles/understanding-color.html

I think he does a really good job talking to all the different points.

Here is a quote from the text:

There isn’t really a simple answer to this, but we thought it would be a good idea to discuss color gamuts. For those of you who want to get all scientific about it, we offer this explanation: Monitors emit light, inked paper absorbs or reflects specific wavelengths. Cyan, magenta and yellow pigments serve as filters, subtracting varying degrees of red, green and blue from white light to produce a selective gamut of spectral colors. Like monitors, printing inks also produce a color gamut that is only a subset of the visible spectrum, although the range is not the same for both. Consequently, the same art displayed on a computer monitor may not match to that printed in a publication.

Also he has a great Pantone conversion chart here: http://www.northcountrydesign.us/component/content/article/25/85.html

So check it out and let me know of any other good resources out there.