[bettymarie]

I'm a designer re-entering the workforce after 9 years away. I plan on purchasing a mac for freelance/at-home use. Do I need a MacPro or would a MacBook or iMac suffice?
The majority of my work is in Quark, Photoshop and Illustrator.

[hautster]

Ultimately, you're probably going to get several opinions to this, but it all boils down to what will work best for you. If I understand correctly, the 20" and 24" iMacs are SWOP certified. (someone please correct me if I'm wrong) so the color would be good to work with. Max out the ram and the hard drive and you have a pretty sweet machine. You still have the option of adding a second monitor (which I've always done to just throw all my pallets onto. I just get a cheap one for that and keep my color pallets on my main monitor). If you don't need to do any major video work or super-intensive photo work, the iMac 20" or 24" is a pretty good choice.
On the other hand, if you will need to do a lot of Photoshop and/or video work, and will need some room to expand, the MacPro would suit you better. You could stick a couple of Gigs of Ram in it, and get more as you go along. You would certainly want to get an Apple monitor with it as they are SWOP certified.
I wouldn't get a MacBook (MacBook Pro is ok) as there's no dedicated graphics card and you'll need that. Also, the small screen would make your eyes pop out after a while. /forums/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif (Believe me, I just taught an InDesign course in Armenia using my MacBook and after a few days I was really wanting my 20" Cinema display!)
Hope this helps

[MacKayaker]

Your budget may decide for you, but ultimately the nature of what you are working on should be the guiding factor. If primarily book publishing or most of the day will be spent in layout, then get what you want, though the Mac Pro will always serve better since it can handle reasonable amounts of RAM. It would be my first choice. If the nature of your work will have you spending a lot of time in all three apps you mentioned at the same time and/or a fair amount of time in Photoshop, then the MacPro is really the best choice because the iMac will be limited to 3 GB of RAM and any one of the apps can nearly use all that by themselves, so if efficiency is important, you want a lot more RAM than that, long term. And two or more internal drives can also speed things up, especially with Photoshop and Illustrator. But, the more RAM the better, as with more RAM, the less virtual memory has to be used and that has a direct impact on performance. If you have lots of time and not dealing with complex stuff, then an iMac will work, but once demand grows, you'll loose time on it.
One other point to clarify - Apple displays themselves are not "SWOP certified." I keep seeing people claim that - Apple's site doesn't make that claim. What it does say is they can be used in a "SWOP certified workflow," which is true of many of the better displays on the market. Very few designers or shops do what's needed for this to be true for their setup, so it doesn't need to be a factor in the purchase. Out of the box, just connecting an Apple display, or getting an iMac, etc. doesn't mean you have a color accurate solution. There is much more to it than that. Would be great if it were so - it isn't.

[hautster]

Thanks for clarifying the SWOP certification issue for me.

[James_Dempsey]

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Do I need a MacPro or would a MacBook or iMac suffice?

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Forget any thoughts of using a MacBook (or even a MacBook Pro) for doing serious design work. It's not that they are not capable of running the software, it's that they are just too limited.
The hard drive in a laptop runs at a much slower speed than in desktop units. This may not make a huge difference in Quark, but believe me when I tell you that it will make a huge difference in Photoshop and Illustrator.
The screen size is another issue. Laptops are just too small. Sure, you can add an external monitor, but then you're tied to your desk - kinda defeats the purpose of a laptop.
Laptops are fantastic as a "secondary" machine for designers.
The iMac 24" would be a great choice. It's powerful, has a dedicated graphics card (very important for PS work) and a faster hard drive. There are only two downsides to having an iMac:
First, expansion is the key. The maximum amount of RAM for a 24" iMac is 3GB. This is probably fine for most design needs right now. I have a MacPro and only have 3GB and it runs Photoshop, InDesign, Illustrator and Acrobat more than fast enough. But I have the advantage of being able to drop in more RAM at any time if I feel it will make life better. I can also add more hard drives without having to give up the one that came with the machine. Sure, you can add external drives to the iMac, but having to deal with all the cords under your desk, the power consumption and the extra space on top of your desk does get annoying.
Second, it's all or nothing. By that I mean, if something goes wrong with the iMac's LCD display, you have to return the whole machine for repairs. You're screwed. With a desktop, you can either buy a new LCD, or borrow another display until yours gets fixed - and just keep on working. Because the iMac is "all-in-one" it saves space on your desk, but it also means that you can't just pick and choose what parts you fix, replace or upgrade.
Ultimately though, it will come down to price. For me, I was ready to get the 24" iMac. I already had a 20.1" LCD though. When I priced out the iMac with max RAM, hard drive, airport, etc... and compared it to just keeping my perfectly fine LCD I already had and just getting the MacPro with the same amount of RAM and hard drive, the price was actually LESS than the iMac and twice as powerful. Plus, I have the advantage of being able to upgrade later, including the processor, the video card, RAM, hard drive, etc... In other words, I chose to "future-proof" myself with the MacPro.
The 24" iMac will do the job for you for probably 3 to 5 years, at which time you'll probably want an upgrade anyway - if you don't already have a monitor/LCD, then the iMac will probably fit into your budget better. It would be a good purchase. The MacPro will be a better investment long-term, but requires a little more cash up-front.
Best of luck whichever you choose... you'll most likely be happy with either.