Brother Word Processor
 Disk Conversions

 by 

LuxSoft of Luxulyan 

We can convert any size of .WPT format Brother WP file to suit all versions of Microsoft Word for Windows, MSWorks, Appleworks, Lotus Word Pro, Word Perfect and many more - and at just £5 per disk, it doesn't cost a fortune either !

Established in 1986, LuxSoft has been performing this fully confidential and professional service for many years now so please beware of amateur imitators who truncate files larger than 10k or use 'text only' (ASCII) transfers which lose all your formatting. Unlike others, we also accept faulty disks and will do our utmost to recover as much material from them as we can ...

We care about your valuable data. 

Introduction

Many competitors use a 'text only' (ASCII) conversion system to make Brother WP files readable by popular Windows word processors like Word. This not only involves you in the time-consuming chore of going through saving each and every file in ASCII form before sending the disks but it also means that you loose all your precious formatting, including all those lovely bolds, italics and foreign language accents.

And this is also rather impractical if you are a publisher who has just been sent in a disk or your trusty Brother Word Processor is no longer extant!

Our fully confidential disk transfer service keeps your document formatting and the results are suitable for all popular DOS, Mac & Windows-based word  processors. However, if you only have ASCII format files available, we can also convert these to Word etc format.

Full post-transfer support comes in the form of a comprehensive instruction & tips sheet plus free support by phone or e-mail.

Oh yes, and we're one of the cheapest services around too!

Disk & File Formats Accepted

We can accept .WPT and plain ASCII text (.TXT) files originating from PC compatible Brother WP's on the the following media:

• 3.5" 720kb (MF2DD) & 1.44mb (MF2HD) floppy disks

• Files saved via a PC on CD or DVD media

• Ditto by e-mail, preferably as a Zipped archive

Suitable Brother Models

The following models ARE suitable as they use disks compatible with our PC's -

• LW Models LW-35, LW-350, LW-450

• LW-700i, LW-700ic, LW-730i, LW-750ic

• LW-800ic, LW-810ic, LW-830ic, LW-840ic  

• PN models PN-8500 & PN-9000

• GW-25

• WP800MDS

• WP-1700MDS

• WP-5500DS

• WP-5600MDS

• WP-7000J  ('Wisperwriter')

• WP-7550J

• WP-7700CJ

• Certain EM series models eg EM-2050 use PC format disks but produce files that are in a special format. We can convert these subject to the loss of some formatting controls.

 If your model is listed above click here to skip the next section 

Unsuitable Brother models  

Early models produced 240k disks which are not compatible with conventional PC's so, sorry, we cannot read & convert these. Models known to be unsuitable include :

•  UK models - WP-1 to WP-70, LW-1, LW-20, and LW-100.

•  US models with a WP prefix and no suffix (no letters after the number) 
      eg WP-3400 is not suitable (but WP-1700MDS is OK)

so please do not send us any disks from these models !  

• Advance payment for return postage will be required for any disks sent to us which come from these models.

• Pivar in the USA (www.pivar.com) can convert most old disks at around $40 per disk

If your model number is not listed above as suitable or you don't know it .... 

It may be a non-UK model we haven't met before so do try the following test first:

Write-protect the disk by sliding the tab on the underside so that the square hole is OPEN then try loading it on a PC. If a list appears of files which end in .WPT, then you are in luck .... and you can either e-mail us the files or send us the disk .... but do not double click on any of the files to try to open them. 

If Windows says "the disk is not formatted, do you want to format it now?" do please say No!  

All is not yet lost though as the cause could be the type of PC you are using or the type of disk that's been used ..... e-mail us giving the model number and the problems you are having so that we can send you a suitable help sheet.

Format of the converted files

We normally convert files to both Rich Text Format (*.Rtf) and Word 7 (*.Doc) as one or other can be read by all versions of MicroSoft Word, MS Works, Lotus Word Pro and even by the Apple Macs so beloved by the publishing fraternity.

However, we can also convert files to be suitable for Word Perfect, Windows Write and Wordpad.

Costs and Turnround

The price is a mere £5 for ALL the files on a floppy disc irrespective of how many files it contains - the same price as it was 8 years ago! The even better news is that there are progressive quantity discounts for 6 or more error-free disks too eg 6-10 are £4.50, 11-15 are £4.25 and 16-20 are £4

Please note that, unlike some other companies, it's a flat fee per complete floppy disk and there are 

• NO surcharges for full or nearly full disks

• NO surcharges for us supplying the floppy or CD of results

• NO surcharges for sending back your old disks afterwards

For files sent to us on CD or via e-mailed Zipped archives, prices are based on £5 per megabyte of uncompressed data but here too there the same progressive discounts for quantities of 6mb or more.

All prices include e-mailing of results worldwide. For results on CD or floppy disk sent by post, a minimum invoice total of £10 has had to be introduced due to the ever increasing cost of postage. For CD's to Europe (incl Republic of Ireland), there is an additional postal charge of 50p and to non-Europe of £1.50.

For overseas customers, £1 translates to approx $1.70 US or 1.20 Euros.

The conversion service is totally confidential and we aim to send back the results within 48 hours ... but for large batches of disks, this may take a tad longer as we specialise in quality rather than speed.

The procedure for sending us your data ....

- By e-mail attachment ...

• If you have already copied the Brother files to your PC or Mac, the quickest and cheapest way of sending us the files is by e-mail but please contact us first at malc@luxsoft.demon.co.uk giving an approx total size of files. You will then be given an alternative e-mail address to which they should be sent.

• If the files aren't already on your computer, you have a floppy drive fitted to it and you don't want to risk posting the discs but you are unsure how to go about copying them, please e-mail us at malc@luxsoft.demon.co.uk to ask for our 'How to E-Mail Brother files' help sheet.

- On Floppy Disks or CD's ...

• If possible, please make a copy of each of the disks you wish to be converted and send us the copies, not the originals.

• Please clearly number the disks

• Click here to print out the Conversion Request Form to give us your details as well as how you would like the disks converted. 

• Pack up the disks securely ... either in an anti-static bag or wrapped in paper kitchen towel within a small cardboard container .... then pop the pack in a "Jiffy" type of padded envelope together with your completed Conversion Request Form (or substitute letter). 

• Please do NOT send any money at this stage. You will be invoiced on completion and this will detail the payment options, which now include funds transfer by

• Post the package to us. Please note that .....

  • Use of Recorded Delivery or Registered Mail is encouraged for valuable material & when disk copies cannot be made but this may delay receipt as the post arrives outside office hours.

  • Postage rates in the UK go on thickness of pack as well as size and weight so even just a single floppy must go as a 'Large Letter'. To avoid Royal Mail's punitive surcharges, please ensure that all mail is adequately stamped.

• By sending us data either in the form of disks or e-mails, you are deemed to have accepted the Terms & Conditions of our service.

    What we then do ....

• If we encounter any reading problems with the disks because they have become corrupted, we will contact you by telephone or e-mail to discuss options and the likely additional charges for repairing the disks.

• In accord with your stated preferences and the volume of data involved, the results are either e-mailed to you or sent by post on floppy disk or CD accompanied by an invoice and a comprehensive set of step-by-step instructions about how to access the files in your PC's word processor plus advice on editing & re-formatting the documents. 

• For the security of your data, your original disks (if still required) are returned to you under separate cover. This is done once your payment has been received and, if by cheque, this has been cleared by our bank.

• Unlike other companies, we do NOT ask for payment in advance but we do ask for prompt settlement of the invoice. 

Customer Feedback

• "Wonderful" - Revd R S, London
• "I thought that those files were lost forever" - J S, Cobham
• "Wonderful! Congratulations!" - DGL, Cardiff