diff --git a/scour/scour.py b/scour/scour.py
index e7ac104..c0f4b2f 100644
--- a/scour/scour.py
+++ b/scour/scour.py
@@ -3342,6 +3342,9 @@ def getInOut(options):
          outfile = sys.stdout.buffer
       except AttributeError:
          outfile = sys.stdout
+      # enable quiet mode when writing output to stdout
+      # otherwise informational text output would be mixed into the SVG output
+      options.quiet = True
 
    return [infile, outfile]