diff --git a/src/bin/extract.rs b/src/bin/extract.rs
index be0e5a2f..daf14ec4 100644
--- a/src/bin/extract.rs
+++ b/src/bin/extract.rs
@@ -10,8 +10,8 @@ fn main()
 
     for file in zipcontainer.files()
     {
-        println!("{}", file.file_name_string());
-        let comment = file.file_comment_string();
+        println!("{}", file.file_name);
+        let comment = &file.file_comment;
         if comment.len() > 0 { println!("  File comment: {}", comment); }
 
         if file.uncompressed_size == 0 { continue }
diff --git a/src/bin/write_sample.rs b/src/bin/write_sample.rs
index 796dea94..5b6b35fe 100644
--- a/src/bin/write_sample.rs
+++ b/src/bin/write_sample.rs
@@ -18,10 +18,10 @@ fn doit(filename: &str) -> std::io::IoResult<()>
 
     let mut zip = zip::ZipWriter::new(file);
 
-    try!(zip.start_file(b"test/hello_world.txt", zip::types::Stored));
+    try!(zip.start_file("test/hello_world.txt", zip::types::Stored));
     try!(zip.write(b"Hello, World!\n"));
 
-    try!(zip.start_file(b"test/lorem_ipsum.txt", zip::types::Deflated));
+    try!(zip.start_file("test/lorem_ipsum.txt", zip::types::Deflated));
     try!(zip.write(LOREM_IPSUM));
 
     zip.finalize()
diff --git a/src/cp437.rs b/src/cp437.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..293be64f
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/cp437.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,554 @@
+/// Conversion module to convert a String to IBM codepage 437
+
+pub fn to_string(input: &[u8]) -> String
+{
+    input.iter().map(|c| to_char(*c)).collect()
+}
+
+pub fn from_string(input: &str) -> Vec<u8>
+{
+    input.chars().map(|c| from_char(c)).collect()
+}
+
+fn to_char(input: u8) -> char
+{
+    let output = match input
+    {
+        0x00 => 0x0000,
+        0x01 => 0x0001,
+        0x02 => 0x0002,
+        0x03 => 0x0003,
+        0x04 => 0x0004,
+        0x05 => 0x0005,
+        0x06 => 0x0006,
+        0x07 => 0x0007,
+        0x08 => 0x0008,
+        0x09 => 0x0009,
+        0x0a => 0x000a,
+        0x0b => 0x000b,
+        0x0c => 0x000c,
+        0x0d => 0x000d,
+        0x0e => 0x000e,
+        0x0f => 0x000f,
+        0x10 => 0x0010,
+        0x11 => 0x0011,
+        0x12 => 0x0012,
+        0x13 => 0x0013,
+        0x14 => 0x0014,
+        0x15 => 0x0015,
+        0x16 => 0x0016,
+        0x17 => 0x0017,
+        0x18 => 0x0018,
+        0x19 => 0x0019,
+        0x1a => 0x001a,
+        0x1b => 0x001b,
+        0x1c => 0x001c,
+        0x1d => 0x001d,
+        0x1e => 0x001e,
+        0x1f => 0x001f,
+        0x20 => 0x0020,
+        0x21 => 0x0021,
+        0x22 => 0x0022,
+        0x23 => 0x0023,
+        0x24 => 0x0024,
+        0x25 => 0x0025,
+        0x26 => 0x0026,
+        0x27 => 0x0027,
+        0x28 => 0x0028,
+        0x29 => 0x0029,
+        0x2a => 0x002a,
+        0x2b => 0x002b,
+        0x2c => 0x002c,
+        0x2d => 0x002d,
+        0x2e => 0x002e,
+        0x2f => 0x002f,
+        0x30 => 0x0030,
+        0x31 => 0x0031,
+        0x32 => 0x0032,
+        0x33 => 0x0033,
+        0x34 => 0x0034,
+        0x35 => 0x0035,
+        0x36 => 0x0036,
+        0x37 => 0x0037,
+        0x38 => 0x0038,
+        0x39 => 0x0039,
+        0x3a => 0x003a,
+        0x3b => 0x003b,
+        0x3c => 0x003c,
+        0x3d => 0x003d,
+        0x3e => 0x003e,
+        0x3f => 0x003f,
+        0x40 => 0x0040,
+        0x41 => 0x0041,
+        0x42 => 0x0042,
+        0x43 => 0x0043,
+        0x44 => 0x0044,
+        0x45 => 0x0045,
+        0x46 => 0x0046,
+        0x47 => 0x0047,
+        0x48 => 0x0048,
+        0x49 => 0x0049,
+        0x4a => 0x004a,
+        0x4b => 0x004b,
+        0x4c => 0x004c,
+        0x4d => 0x004d,
+        0x4e => 0x004e,
+        0x4f => 0x004f,
+        0x50 => 0x0050,
+        0x51 => 0x0051,
+        0x52 => 0x0052,
+        0x53 => 0x0053,
+        0x54 => 0x0054,
+        0x55 => 0x0055,
+        0x56 => 0x0056,
+        0x57 => 0x0057,
+        0x58 => 0x0058,
+        0x59 => 0x0059,
+        0x5a => 0x005a,
+        0x5b => 0x005b,
+        0x5c => 0x005c,
+        0x5d => 0x005d,
+        0x5e => 0x005e,
+        0x5f => 0x005f,
+        0x60 => 0x0060,
+        0x61 => 0x0061,
+        0x62 => 0x0062,
+        0x63 => 0x0063,
+        0x64 => 0x0064,
+        0x65 => 0x0065,
+        0x66 => 0x0066,
+        0x67 => 0x0067,
+        0x68 => 0x0068,
+        0x69 => 0x0069,
+        0x6a => 0x006a,
+        0x6b => 0x006b,
+        0x6c => 0x006c,
+        0x6d => 0x006d,
+        0x6e => 0x006e,
+        0x6f => 0x006f,
+        0x70 => 0x0070,
+        0x71 => 0x0071,
+        0x72 => 0x0072,
+        0x73 => 0x0073,
+        0x74 => 0x0074,
+        0x75 => 0x0075,
+        0x76 => 0x0076,
+        0x77 => 0x0077,
+        0x78 => 0x0078,
+        0x79 => 0x0079,
+        0x7a => 0x007a,
+        0x7b => 0x007b,
+        0x7c => 0x007c,
+        0x7d => 0x007d,
+        0x7e => 0x007e,
+        0x7f => 0x007f,
+        0x80 => 0x00c7,
+        0x81 => 0x00fc,
+        0x82 => 0x00e9,
+        0x83 => 0x00e2,
+        0x84 => 0x00e4,
+        0x85 => 0x00e0,
+        0x86 => 0x00e5,
+        0x87 => 0x00e7,
+        0x88 => 0x00ea,
+        0x89 => 0x00eb,
+        0x8a => 0x00e8,
+        0x8b => 0x00ef,
+        0x8c => 0x00ee,
+        0x8d => 0x00ec,
+        0x8e => 0x00c4,
+        0x8f => 0x00c5,
+        0x90 => 0x00c9,
+        0x91 => 0x00e6,
+        0x92 => 0x00c6,
+        0x93 => 0x00f4,
+        0x94 => 0x00f6,
+        0x95 => 0x00f2,
+        0x96 => 0x00fb,
+        0x97 => 0x00f9,
+        0x98 => 0x00ff,
+        0x99 => 0x00d6,
+        0x9a => 0x00dc,
+        0x9b => 0x00a2,
+        0x9c => 0x00a3,
+        0x9d => 0x00a5,
+        0x9e => 0x20a7,
+        0x9f => 0x0192,
+        0xa0 => 0x00e1,
+        0xa1 => 0x00ed,
+        0xa2 => 0x00f3,
+        0xa3 => 0x00fa,
+        0xa4 => 0x00f1,
+        0xa5 => 0x00d1,
+        0xa6 => 0x00aa,
+        0xa7 => 0x00ba,
+        0xa8 => 0x00bf,
+        0xa9 => 0x2310,
+        0xaa => 0x00ac,
+        0xab => 0x00bd,
+        0xac => 0x00bc,
+        0xad => 0x00a1,
+        0xae => 0x00ab,
+        0xaf => 0x00bb,
+        0xb0 => 0x2591,
+        0xb1 => 0x2592,
+        0xb2 => 0x2593,
+        0xb3 => 0x2502,
+        0xb4 => 0x2524,
+        0xb5 => 0x2561,
+        0xb6 => 0x2562,
+        0xb7 => 0x2556,
+        0xb8 => 0x2555,
+        0xb9 => 0x2563,
+        0xba => 0x2551,
+        0xbb => 0x2557,
+        0xbc => 0x255d,
+        0xbd => 0x255c,
+        0xbe => 0x255b,
+        0xbf => 0x2510,
+        0xc0 => 0x2514,
+        0xc1 => 0x2534,
+        0xc2 => 0x252c,
+        0xc3 => 0x251c,
+        0xc4 => 0x2500,
+        0xc5 => 0x253c,
+        0xc6 => 0x255e,
+        0xc7 => 0x255f,
+        0xc8 => 0x255a,
+        0xc9 => 0x2554,
+        0xca => 0x2569,
+        0xcb => 0x2566,
+        0xcc => 0x2560,
+        0xcd => 0x2550,
+        0xce => 0x256c,
+        0xcf => 0x2567,
+        0xd0 => 0x2568,
+        0xd1 => 0x2564,
+        0xd2 => 0x2565,
+        0xd3 => 0x2559,
+        0xd4 => 0x2558,
+        0xd5 => 0x2552,
+        0xd6 => 0x2553,
+        0xd7 => 0x256b,
+        0xd8 => 0x256a,
+        0xd9 => 0x2518,
+        0xda => 0x250c,
+        0xdb => 0x2588,
+        0xdc => 0x2584,
+        0xdd => 0x258c,
+        0xde => 0x2590,
+        0xdf => 0x2580,
+        0xe0 => 0x03b1,
+        0xe1 => 0x00df,
+        0xe2 => 0x0393,
+        0xe3 => 0x03c0,
+        0xe4 => 0x03a3,
+        0xe5 => 0x03c3,
+        0xe6 => 0x00b5,
+        0xe7 => 0x03c4,
+        0xe8 => 0x03a6,
+        0xe9 => 0x0398,
+        0xea => 0x03a9,
+        0xeb => 0x03b4,
+        0xec => 0x221e,
+        0xed => 0x03c6,
+        0xee => 0x03b5,
+        0xef => 0x2229,
+        0xf0 => 0x2261,
+        0xf1 => 0x00b1,
+        0xf2 => 0x2265,
+        0xf3 => 0x2264,
+        0xf4 => 0x2320,
+        0xf5 => 0x2321,
+        0xf6 => 0x00f7,
+        0xf7 => 0x2248,
+        0xf8 => 0x00b0,
+        0xf9 => 0x2219,
+        0xfa => 0x00b7,
+        0xfb => 0x221a,
+        0xfc => 0x207f,
+        0xfd => 0x00b2,
+        0xfe => 0x25a0,
+        0xff => 0x00a0,
+        _ => 0xfffd,
+    };
+    ::std::char::from_u32(output).unwrap()
+}
+
+fn from_char(input: char) -> u8
+{
+    let output = match input as u32
+    {
+        0x0000 => 0x00,
+        0x0001 => 0x01,
+        0x0002 => 0x02,
+        0x0003 => 0x03,
+        0x0004 => 0x04,
+        0x0005 => 0x05,
+        0x0006 => 0x06,
+        0x0007 => 0x07,
+        0x0008 => 0x08,
+        0x0009 => 0x09,
+        0x000a => 0x0a,
+        0x000b => 0x0b,
+        0x000c => 0x0c,
+        0x000d => 0x0d,
+        0x000e => 0x0e,
+        0x000f => 0x0f,
+        0x0010 => 0x10,
+        0x0011 => 0x11,
+        0x0012 => 0x12,
+        0x0013 => 0x13,
+        0x0014 => 0x14,
+        0x0015 => 0x15,
+        0x0016 => 0x16,
+        0x0017 => 0x17,
+        0x0018 => 0x18,
+        0x0019 => 0x19,
+        0x001a => 0x1a,
+        0x001b => 0x1b,
+        0x001c => 0x1c,
+        0x001d => 0x1d,
+        0x001e => 0x1e,
+        0x001f => 0x1f,
+        0x0020 => 0x20,
+        0x0021 => 0x21,
+        0x0022 => 0x22,
+        0x0023 => 0x23,
+        0x0024 => 0x24,
+        0x0025 => 0x25,
+        0x0026 => 0x26,
+        0x0027 => 0x27,
+        0x0028 => 0x28,
+        0x0029 => 0x29,
+        0x002a => 0x2a,
+        0x002b => 0x2b,
+        0x002c => 0x2c,
+        0x002d => 0x2d,
+        0x002e => 0x2e,
+        0x002f => 0x2f,
+        0x0030 => 0x30,
+        0x0031 => 0x31,
+        0x0032 => 0x32,
+        0x0033 => 0x33,
+        0x0034 => 0x34,
+        0x0035 => 0x35,
+        0x0036 => 0x36,
+        0x0037 => 0x37,
+        0x0038 => 0x38,
+        0x0039 => 0x39,
+        0x003a => 0x3a,
+        0x003b => 0x3b,
+        0x003c => 0x3c,
+        0x003d => 0x3d,
+        0x003e => 0x3e,
+        0x003f => 0x3f,
+        0x0040 => 0x40,
+        0x0041 => 0x41,
+        0x0042 => 0x42,
+        0x0043 => 0x43,
+        0x0044 => 0x44,
+        0x0045 => 0x45,
+        0x0046 => 0x46,
+        0x0047 => 0x47,
+        0x0048 => 0x48,
+        0x0049 => 0x49,
+        0x004a => 0x4a,
+        0x004b => 0x4b,
+        0x004c => 0x4c,
+        0x004d => 0x4d,
+        0x004e => 0x4e,
+        0x004f => 0x4f,
+        0x0050 => 0x50,
+        0x0051 => 0x51,
+        0x0052 => 0x52,
+        0x0053 => 0x53,
+        0x0054 => 0x54,
+        0x0055 => 0x55,
+        0x0056 => 0x56,
+        0x0057 => 0x57,
+        0x0058 => 0x58,
+        0x0059 => 0x59,
+        0x005a => 0x5a,
+        0x005b => 0x5b,
+        0x005c => 0x5c,
+        0x005d => 0x5d,
+        0x005e => 0x5e,
+        0x005f => 0x5f,
+        0x0060 => 0x60,
+        0x0061 => 0x61,
+        0x0062 => 0x62,
+        0x0063 => 0x63,
+        0x0064 => 0x64,
+        0x0065 => 0x65,
+        0x0066 => 0x66,
+        0x0067 => 0x67,
+        0x0068 => 0x68,
+        0x0069 => 0x69,
+        0x006a => 0x6a,
+        0x006b => 0x6b,
+        0x006c => 0x6c,
+        0x006d => 0x6d,
+        0x006e => 0x6e,
+        0x006f => 0x6f,
+        0x0070 => 0x70,
+        0x0071 => 0x71,
+        0x0072 => 0x72,
+        0x0073 => 0x73,
+        0x0074 => 0x74,
+        0x0075 => 0x75,
+        0x0076 => 0x76,
+        0x0077 => 0x77,
+        0x0078 => 0x78,
+        0x0079 => 0x79,
+        0x007a => 0x7a,
+        0x007b => 0x7b,
+        0x007c => 0x7c,
+        0x007d => 0x7d,
+        0x007e => 0x7e,
+        0x007f => 0x7f,
+        0x00c7 => 0x80,
+        0x00fc => 0x81,
+        0x00e9 => 0x82,
+        0x00e2 => 0x83,
+        0x00e4 => 0x84,
+        0x00e0 => 0x85,
+        0x00e5 => 0x86,
+        0x00e7 => 0x87,
+        0x00ea => 0x88,
+        0x00eb => 0x89,
+        0x00e8 => 0x8a,
+        0x00ef => 0x8b,
+        0x00ee => 0x8c,
+        0x00ec => 0x8d,
+        0x00c4 => 0x8e,
+        0x00c5 => 0x8f,
+        0x00c9 => 0x90,
+        0x00e6 => 0x91,
+        0x00c6 => 0x92,
+        0x00f4 => 0x93,
+        0x00f6 => 0x94,
+        0x00f2 => 0x95,
+        0x00fb => 0x96,
+        0x00f9 => 0x97,
+        0x00ff => 0x98,
+        0x00d6 => 0x99,
+        0x00dc => 0x9a,
+        0x00a2 => 0x9b,
+        0x00a3 => 0x9c,
+        0x00a5 => 0x9d,
+        0x20a7 => 0x9e,
+        0x0192 => 0x9f,
+        0x00e1 => 0xa0,
+        0x00ed => 0xa1,
+        0x00f3 => 0xa2,
+        0x00fa => 0xa3,
+        0x00f1 => 0xa4,
+        0x00d1 => 0xa5,
+        0x00aa => 0xa6,
+        0x00ba => 0xa7,
+        0x00bf => 0xa8,
+        0x2310 => 0xa9,
+        0x00ac => 0xaa,
+        0x00bd => 0xab,
+        0x00bc => 0xac,
+        0x00a1 => 0xad,
+        0x00ab => 0xae,
+        0x00bb => 0xaf,
+        0x2591 => 0xb0,
+        0x2592 => 0xb1,
+        0x2593 => 0xb2,
+        0x2502 => 0xb3,
+        0x2524 => 0xb4,
+        0x2561 => 0xb5,
+        0x2562 => 0xb6,
+        0x2556 => 0xb7,
+        0x2555 => 0xb8,
+        0x2563 => 0xb9,
+        0x2551 => 0xba,
+        0x2557 => 0xbb,
+        0x255d => 0xbc,
+        0x255c => 0xbd,
+        0x255b => 0xbe,
+        0x2510 => 0xbf,
+        0x2514 => 0xc0,
+        0x2534 => 0xc1,
+        0x252c => 0xc2,
+        0x251c => 0xc3,
+        0x2500 => 0xc4,
+        0x253c => 0xc5,
+        0x255e => 0xc6,
+        0x255f => 0xc7,
+        0x255a => 0xc8,
+        0x2554 => 0xc9,
+        0x2569 => 0xca,
+        0x2566 => 0xcb,
+        0x2560 => 0xcc,
+        0x2550 => 0xcd,
+        0x256c => 0xce,
+        0x2567 => 0xcf,
+        0x2568 => 0xd0,
+        0x2564 => 0xd1,
+        0x2565 => 0xd2,
+        0x2559 => 0xd3,
+        0x2558 => 0xd4,
+        0x2552 => 0xd5,
+        0x2553 => 0xd6,
+        0x256b => 0xd7,
+        0x256a => 0xd8,
+        0x2518 => 0xd9,
+        0x250c => 0xda,
+        0x2588 => 0xdb,
+        0x2584 => 0xdc,
+        0x258c => 0xdd,
+        0x2590 => 0xde,
+        0x2580 => 0xdf,
+        0x03b1 => 0xe0,
+        0x00df => 0xe1,
+        0x0393 => 0xe2,
+        0x03c0 => 0xe3,
+        0x03a3 => 0xe4,
+        0x03c3 => 0xe5,
+        0x00b5 => 0xe6,
+        0x03c4 => 0xe7,
+        0x03a6 => 0xe8,
+        0x0398 => 0xe9,
+        0x03a9 => 0xea,
+        0x03b4 => 0xeb,
+        0x221e => 0xec,
+        0x03c6 => 0xed,
+        0x03b5 => 0xee,
+        0x2229 => 0xef,
+        0x2261 => 0xf0,
+        0x00b1 => 0xf1,
+        0x2265 => 0xf2,
+        0x2264 => 0xf3,
+        0x2320 => 0xf4,
+        0x2321 => 0xf5,
+        0x00f7 => 0xf6,
+        0x2248 => 0xf7,
+        0x00b0 => 0xf8,
+        0x2219 => 0xf9,
+        0x00b7 => 0xfa,
+        0x221a => 0xfb,
+        0x207f => 0xfc,
+        0x00b2 => 0xfd,
+        0x25a0 => 0xfe,
+        0x00a0 => 0xff,
+        _ => 0x3f, // For safety, us the question mark '?'
+    };
+    output
+}
+
+#[cfg(test)]
+mod test
+{
+    #[test]
+    fn to_char_valid()
+    {
+        for i in ::std::iter::range_inclusive(0x00, 0xFF)
+        {
+            super::to_char(i);
+        }
+    }
+}
diff --git a/src/lib.rs b/src/lib.rs
index 7f3a7bf8..76aac06f 100644
--- a/src/lib.rs
+++ b/src/lib.rs
@@ -17,3 +17,4 @@ mod crc32;
 mod reader;
 pub mod types;
 mod writer;
+mod cp437;
diff --git a/src/reader.rs b/src/reader.rs
index 678e7b5b..dd49a86a 100644
--- a/src/reader.rs
+++ b/src/reader.rs
@@ -21,7 +21,7 @@ use flate2::FlateReader;
 ///
 ///     for file in zip.files()
 ///     {
-///         println!("Filename: {}", file.file_name_string());
+///         println!("Filename: {}", file.file_name);
 ///         let mut file_reader = try!(zip.read_file(file));
 ///         let first_byte = try!(file_reader.read_byte());
 ///         println!("{}", first_byte);
diff --git a/src/spec.rs b/src/spec.rs
index 4c797994..5bbed312 100644
--- a/src/spec.rs
+++ b/src/spec.rs
@@ -25,6 +25,7 @@ pub fn central_header_to_zip_file<R: Reader+Seek>(reader: &mut R) -> IoResult<Zi
     try!(reader.read_le_u16());
     let flags = try!(reader.read_le_u16());
     let encrypted = flags & 1 == 1;
+    let is_utf8 = flags & (1 << 11) != 0;
     let compression_method = try!(reader.read_le_u16());
     let last_mod_time = try!(reader.read_le_u16());
     let last_mod_date = try!(reader.read_le_u16());
@@ -38,9 +39,20 @@ pub fn central_header_to_zip_file<R: Reader+Seek>(reader: &mut R) -> IoResult<Zi
     try!(reader.read_le_u16());
     try!(reader.read_le_u32());
     let offset = try!(reader.read_le_u32()) as i64;
-    let file_name = try!(reader.read_exact(file_name_length));
+    let file_name_raw = try!(reader.read_exact(file_name_length));
     try!(reader.read_exact(extra_field_length));
-    let file_comment  = try!(reader.read_exact(file_comment_length));
+    let file_comment_raw  = try!(reader.read_exact(file_comment_length));
+
+    let file_name = match is_utf8
+    {
+        true => String::from_utf8_lossy(file_name_raw.as_slice()).into_string(),
+        false => ::cp437::to_string(file_name_raw.as_slice()),
+    };
+    let file_comment = match is_utf8
+    {
+        true => String::from_utf8_lossy(file_comment_raw.as_slice()).into_string(),
+        false => ::cp437::to_string(file_comment_raw.as_slice()),
+    };
 
     // Remember end of central header
     let return_position = try!(reader.tell()) as i64;
@@ -97,7 +109,7 @@ pub fn write_local_file_header<T: Writer>(writer: &mut T, file: &ZipFile) -> IoR
     try!(writer.write_le_u32(file.uncompressed_size as u32));
     try!(writer.write_le_u16(file.file_name.len() as u16));
     try!(writer.write_le_u16(0));
-    try!(writer.write(file.file_name.as_slice()));
+    try!(writer.write(::cp437::from_string(file.file_name.as_slice()).as_slice()));
 
     Ok(())
 }
@@ -122,7 +134,7 @@ pub fn write_central_directory_header<T: Writer>(writer: &mut T, file: &ZipFile)
     try!(writer.write_le_u16(0));
     try!(writer.write_le_u32(0));
     try!(writer.write_le_u32(file.header_start as u32));
-    try!(writer.write(file.file_name.as_slice()));
+    try!(writer.write(::cp437::from_string(file.file_name.as_slice()).as_slice()));
 
     Ok(())
 }
diff --git a/src/types.rs b/src/types.rs
index 493e94e2..c6c9c142 100644
--- a/src/types.rs
+++ b/src/types.rs
@@ -58,26 +58,11 @@ pub struct ZipFile
     /// Size of the file when extracted
     pub uncompressed_size: u64,
     /// Name of the file
-    pub file_name: Vec<u8>,
+    pub file_name: String,
     /// File comment
-    pub file_comment: Vec<u8>,
+    pub file_comment: String,
     /// Specifies where the local header of the file starts
     pub header_start: u64,
     /// Specifies where the compressed data of the file starts
     pub data_start: u64,
 }
-
-impl ZipFile
-{
-    /// Lossy UTF-8 interpretation of the file name
-    pub fn file_name_string(&self) -> String
-    {
-        String::from_utf8_lossy(self.file_name.as_slice()).into_string()
-    }
-
-    /// Lossy UTF-8 interpretation of the file comment
-    pub fn file_comment_string(&self) -> String
-    {
-        String::from_utf8_lossy(self.file_comment.as_slice()).into_string()
-    }
-}
diff --git a/src/writer.rs b/src/writer.rs
index dba838b3..a335aa57 100644
--- a/src/writer.rs
+++ b/src/writer.rs
@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ enum GenericZipWriter<W>
 ///     let w = std::io::BufWriter::new(&mut buf);
 ///     let mut zip = zip::ZipWriter::new(w);
 ///
-///     try!(zip.start_file(b"hello_world.txt", zip::types::Stored));
+///     try!(zip.start_file("hello_world.txt", zip::types::Stored));
 ///     try!(zip.write(b"Hello, World!"));
 ///
 ///     // Optionally finish the zip. (this is also done on drop)
@@ -99,7 +99,7 @@ impl<W: Writer+Seek> ZipWriter<W>
     }
 
     /// Start a new file for with the requested compression method.
-    pub fn start_file(&mut self, name: &[u8], compression: types::CompressionMethod) -> IoResult<()>
+    pub fn start_file(&mut self, name: &str, compression: types::CompressionMethod) -> IoResult<()>
     {
         try!(self.finish_file());
 
@@ -120,8 +120,8 @@ impl<W: Writer+Seek> ZipWriter<W>
                 crc32: 0,
                 compressed_size: 0,
                 uncompressed_size: 0,
-                file_name: Vec::from_slice(name),
-                file_comment: Vec::new(),
+                file_name: String::from_str(name),
+                file_comment: String::new(),
                 header_start: header_start,
                 data_start: self.stats.start,
             });