To create an image for deployment with the SystemImager tool, install and configure a Linux distribution and any additional software that you want the image to contain on a system you will use as your golden client. You will deploy the image of that system (or golden client) onto other machines.
System Installer, a component of the System Installation Suite to which SystemImager belongs, allows you to install Linux directly to an image, bypassing the golden client step. System Installer packages and documentation can be found at http://systeminstaller.sourceforge.net Images created with SystemInstaller are interchangeable with those created using the SystemImager tools.