Are the Imacs good for Graphic Design/Illustration work?

I work as a digital illustrator so I spend all day at a monitor. I'm thinking of replacing my powerbook and am leaning towards a 20" Imac.
Does anyone else here use their Imac for professional graphic design or illustration work? How does it measure up?
I've seen many posts about poor screen quality. Should I steer clear of the Imac, or are the screens adequate for design work? At the moment I use a 17" Apple studio display (the old stripey framed kind) which is fine for my needs. How does the Imac screen compare to this?
Is it easy to connect an external monitor (I'd use my Apple Studio Display as a 2nd screen) and can you set them up so they create a giant screen area - i.e. not just 'mirrored'? I already have a VGA to DVI adaptor so presumably this is all I'd need to hook up my 2nd screen?
Is the 24" Imac screen quality much better than the 20"?
Sorry, so many questions! Any advice or opinions much appreciated - Many thanks.

To answer your first question yes they are great for digital illustration. However this will depend on how color accurate your work requires. The only downside I have found with the 20" iMacs is narrow viewing angles. This will be nothing new to you since you have the older 17" studio display. The 24" iMacs are all around absolutely stunning and have much better viewing angles however I have seen a lot of them(including mine) that have some degree of uneven back lighting. If you live anywhere near an Apple store or reseller I would recommend that you go into the store and actually use both of the machines for some period of time and see for yourself how you like it. Bring some of your illustrations from home on a flash drive to see how they look. Otherwise IMO these machines are superb. I love my 24" and it runs CS3 Apps amazingly fast.
If your 17" studio display has the ADC(Apple Digital Connector) then you will have to purchase the power supply adapter to make it work. If you are unsure if it qualifies or not just look and see if your display has it's own power plug. If not then you will need this adapter for $99. IMO it's not worth it as you could put the $100 bucks toward a new display.
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/wa/RSLID?mco=7E4 EB91E&nplm=M8661LL/B
George

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