Just a couple of thoughts - scanners see certain frequencies of light - photo papers see other frequencies of light. Example - developers usually leave some color in the image. Most are black but anything with p-aminophenol, catechol, gallol or hydroquinone will have a brown, yellow or greeinsh density that an enlarger will project onto paper. If the enlarger has a UV component there may be a another aspect to the image contrast. - So I have found that a negative that prints well may not necessarily scan well. Also, scanners often cannot deal with the density ranges of film. I can print through a density of 2.2 pretty well but my scanner starts to have trouble past 1.9 or so. There is also a software component; does the software automatically try to sharpen? Scanners try to do all the thinking for you so it may take an image in that has a DR of 1.0 and make it a DR of 1.8. SO if the proof is in the pudding, I guess the pudding is likely a print and a neg scan is more of a proof to see how the overall image will look and see if there is motion blur and if the image is worth spending time in the darkroom with.