C-41 processing question- am I taking crazy pills?

I live in a rurual area where pro labs are just not a happening thing. So when I found a custom lab within 20 minutes of me, I was very happy. The lab tech, at one point, said I could get my print film to act more like slide film for more creativity. He said the automatic printing machine for their C-41 work could be set to not adjust the prints for correct exposure, thus allowing the photographer to have more creative control. That lab is now closed, unfortunately.
I went to my local one-hour lab yesterday and asked if they could do the same thing. They said that their machine does not adjust the prints in any way, but they would be getting a new machine soon that does. I think they are wrong, and that they have no idea how to use the machine. I told the lady that I recalled one roll where I bracketed a few shots, but forgot to ask them to not adjust the prints. The three prints were identical, which tells me that their machine adjusted the prints' exposure. She still insisted that the machine had nothing to do with it. She also tells me that they are able to reprint badly exposed prints individually, which tells me they at least have the ability.
My question is: are they crazy or am I? They must be able to turn off the auto setting. I guess this question begs another: what is it called when the C-41 lab makes a print without any auto correction applied? If I knew maybe I could jog their memory with a technical term they may have skimmed over in the operator's manual five years ago. I just really think what I want can be done, and probably with only the push of a few buttons. What is going on here? Was the lab tech from the first lab lying to me? Or am I taking crazy pills?

man, id love answers to the same thing. im a relative newbie and hadnt even considered the possibility that places were correcting the exposure on prints. also, how would i search for a custom lab around my area? just look it up in the phone book, or are there certain companies i should be on the lookout for?

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Originally Posted by Outdoorsman

I think they are wrong, and that they have no idea how to use the machine.

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I think you're right.

I remember shooting a couple shots with and without an 80A filter (deep blue filter to take the amber color cast out of incandescent lights) on neg film. I forgot to tell them not to make any adjustments, and couldn't tell by the prints which ones were filtered and which ones weren't! That's a huge adjustment! A decent lab should understand what you mean by asking for your prints with "no adjustments" or "no corrections". I've never worked at a lab, but 99.9% of customers probably want standard adjustments and don't even realize that they're getting them. When you bracketed your shots, you would see a difference in the uncorrected prints, but it might be a little less obvious than slide film because neg film has more latitude (just a theory).

Some of the bigger pro labs only deal on account with pros. There are others that deal with anyone, and even some camera store labs are pretty good. You want a lab you can communicate with, not one where you have to explain to them how to do their job. Check any photography magazine for ads for labs although I can't recommend any personally.

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Originally Posted by skyline315

man, id love answers to the same thing. im a relative newbie and hadnt even considered the possibility that places were correcting the exposure on prints. also, how would i search for a custom lab around my area? just look it up in the phone book, or are there certain companies i should be on the lookout for?

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A good lab should be listed under the "photography" section in the yellow pages (or whatever internet equivalent you use). Just call them up and ask if they do more than just one-hour stuff. Maybe ask if they are a "pro" lab. A good lab should be able to handle E-6 as well as C-41. There's one about 70 miles south of me (closest one!) that can do traditional B&W as well as same-day slide processing. They do it all, including buy/sell/trade equipment. There's no companies specifically that are like chain franchises that I am aware of.
And yes, the print film machine (I thought- hence this thread) will adjust your prints to make them better. Ask your lab what they do, because sometimes they will correct exposure and color casts in one fell swoop. You'll never know what was done, so you won't be able to learn much besides composition. A good lab might be nice enough to give you a "report card" for your roll, telling you how much (in number of stops/EVs) in either direction they had to adjust each exposure to get a good print. My old lab did this, and it really helped. It told me how I screwed up so I could avoid it.
I liked their slogan: "We teach photography!"

hey, i searched google and ran across this site: http://www.acecam.com/lsb5ndex.html

it lists a couple of places near where i live. im going to check into the prices, and hopefully i've found a nice place to go!

I would ask them what machine they use for their film, model and all, and look it up yourself. It may be a bit of work, but you might end up with a simple 2 step thing to print for them to teach them how to change that setting for you, as far as i know, it probably varies greatly from machine model to model, and whoever administrates it and allows what changes by the genreal employees.