Digital BW, The Print

I know there's been discussion of this topic here (and on photo.net) 
and I've read a lot of it.  I'm just starting out with the zone 
system, and I understand the concepts, but I've never done 
traditional printing (or traditional zone system testing), so I'm 
having a bit of trouble getting a foothold in it.

My workflow is shoot, develop, scan neg (Nikon CoolScan IV), print 
via inkjet.

I've read about using the scanner as a densitometer, but since I'm 
not familiar with using a densitometer in the first place, the 
descriptions of how to make a scanner work this way make little sense 
to me.

I've also read about some visual tests using the prints (The Zone 
System for 35mm Photographers, Graves), but they involve printing 
different exposed images on normal contrast paper to make a specific 
zone or highlight match and then comparing shadows.  I don't know 
what the digital equivalent would be (the primitive Brightness 
Contrast dialog in Photoshop?).

I apologize if this is just too basic for this group, but I would 
really appreciate a nudge in the right direction, be it a direct 
explanation or a reference to another resource that might help me 
bridge the gap between what I know and what I need to understand 
before I can start testing with my digital workflow.

Thank you very much in advance!