This is not really a B&W question, but instead a question about profiling tools. I've been using Monaco Systems' EZColor to profile papers and inks on a Canon Pixma Pro 9000. A good friend told me the profiles it made would be worthless because it uses a flatbed scanner as its input device.

So I ordered a PrintFix Pro and it arrived today. I see it uses as few as 150 samples in a target printout. EZColor uses 720 samples on its Target printout. It also uses an industry-standard IT8 target for reference (and to calibrate the scanner).

How can I compare the output of the two profile-maker programs? I know, the short answer is "make some prints with them." But I expect that any differences in the generated profiles would be rather subtle and maybe not visible to the eye. Is there some program that can compare them and highlight the differences (if any)?

ColorThink Pro from chromix.com does just that--compare two or more profiles in more ways than any "normal" person would want to know . A spectro will be more accurate reading patches than a flatbed scanner, so the resulting performance of the profiles should be noticeably different. In PFPro I would recommend the 225 patch targets for color as a good compromise between accuracy and time spent measuring patches.