The sun print that made me check my developer temps

I was printing some 4x5 negatives last week and kept getting these weird washed out highlights on every sheet. Blamed the paper, blamed the enlarger, even blamed my timer. Turned out my developer was sitting at 72 degrees instead of 68 because I left the jug on the counter near the window. Two degrees shifted my mids so bad it looked like a solar print from a pinhole camera. I checked the thermometer after every batch now, not just at the start. It's annoying but it saves a whole box of paper. Anyone else tracked down a subtle color or contrast issue to a temp swing like that? What was your clue that it wasn't the chemistry itself?

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taylorellis1d ago

Thermometer lives in the jug now. Stays there between prints, no exceptions. Had the same thing happen with paper developer once. Thought I was going crazy until I stuck my finger in it and felt the warmth. Cheap stick-on strip thermometers on the tanks help too. Quick glance beats trusting the room temp.