Digital BW, The Print

Hi group,
This morning I receive my new toy. A epson 2450 photo. I will 
use it to scan BW and panoramics and colour negative too. I 
have read that using a third part sotware like vuescan or 
silverfast will improve the scanner quality. Is the IT8 calibration 
worthwhile ? Which of them are better and easy to use?
Saludos
Aitor