I have always used a changing bag to load and unload HIE. If I can find a room where I can turn off the light, I will use it, too. One fellow told me that he lost a roll of HIE because he unloaded the film in subdued light. When I load the film, I have noticed that my changing bag isn't totally proof to IR light, and there is some piping beyond the felt.(posted 9034 days ago)After the film is developed, the unexposed areas should be absolutely clear. Anything else means that it is fogged. For a long time I didn't have a dark room, and I loaded the film onto reels in my changing bag. Well, that was fine for normal film, but I wasted at least five rolls before I realised that the problem was my changing bag. So I had to wait until night, and turn out all the lights before I started my development process.
I use Xtol with this film, I think it's either 6 or 6-1/2 minutes at 68F. Anyways, the usual development times listed by Kodak will produce a contrast which is much too high. I have tried having it developed by a local pro lab, but they used Rodinal and I never received satisfactory results.
I have found that setting an SLR and using TTL light metering with a #25 red filter, a setting of ASA 400 is good. Since this film pipes light, overexposing it will result in those neat halo effects. Check out Joe Paduano's web site, and he has also authored a good book on infrared photography.