unhappy with frontier output

[Bob Carnie]

I would suggest that zero interest in manipulating scans will indeed put you at the mercy of any lab.
In any colour print the subjectivness of colour is astounding, You should as suggested find a lab who wants to work with you in achieving a colour balance that is pleasing to your tastes and any good lab technician with some reference can work the file to meet your needs.
We always prefer to have a small proof print for colour /density /contrast reference when working with photographers. We do not work with a frontier but with a Lambda and try to provide a very custom print.*reference prints are the key*
If the reference is too blue , cyan, yellow , dark , light , muddy, you would convey this to your printer so that final adjustments can be made.
As Helen points out , she has managed her files and found a convient printer to follow her requirements. * She controls the colour density*
Most frontiers , dlabs and other mini lab operations are set up for volumne and good price.* the service side you may be required to provide* or you may need to purchase a much more expensive custom print .

[David A. Goldfarb]

If you're not interested in doing the digital work, then shoot slides and you can tell the lab to match the slide or to adjust as you would normally with a lab that prints optically.

[avandesande]

I have thought about that. It would also set me up for when/if I decide to do color myself since the choice would ilfochrome.

If you're not interested in doing the digital work, then shoot slides and you can tell the lab to match the slide or to adjust as you would normally with a lab that prints optically.

[jnanian]

as bob said, some labs will work with you, offer profiles/so you can 'soft proof" your work, and they may offer color correction services along with proof prints. it ain't cheep, but until you get your "profiles" to match what you want your output to look your prints will come out as you describe.

good luck!
john

[Samuel B]

The Fuji Frontier like any machine is only as good as it's operator. But it depends on exactly what you didn't like about the prints you had done. When the lab I worked at switched from an analogue machine to digital (a Noritsu, but similar to F/F) I felt that the prints were really kind of lacking compared to the analogue machine. Kind of muddy as you describe. But after getting used to the machine and making some adjustments to the default profile it was much better.
Now I have gone back to an analogue machine, and I have to say for some prints I prefer the analogue. Working on an analogue machine you really notice the difference in film types, which is somewhat minimised on a digital machine. I like being able to see the actual grain, projected straight on to the paper, not a computer processed type of grain. Some colours and gradiations reproduce better optically printed, IMO. A good, sharp well exposed neg printed optically is still impressive I think, although very few would seem to agree with me on that these days!
OTOH digital is much bettter when it comes to dust and scratches, overexposed & underexpeosed negs, slightly out of focus negs, and with a digital lab it is generally much, much easier to get an acceptable result.

Not sure if this ramble is of any help, but there it is.