If you don't pixel peep, you're not likely to notice the imperfections of any lens. Since I've never worked in print publication, I can't comment, but as a pixel peeper (self admittedly), I feel the 17-40 is quite weak (sharpness wise).
I have the 17mm TS-E and from my pixel peeping, it is about on par if not a teeny weeny bit less sharp in the center as the 16-35. However, in the corners, the 17 mm TS-E blows the 16-35 out of the water. Not even close. The challenge with the 17 mm TS-E is that it is manual only focus. I bought that lens this year for a trip to Italy and noticed for myself, I was paying a lot more attention and time on shots because of the manual focus and the protruding element.