diff --git a/src/ply.c b/src/ply.c
index 82dc8b0..1a859ba 100644
--- a/src/ply.c
+++ b/src/ply.c
@@ -129,8 +129,8 @@ PlyElement* ply_load_mesh(char* filename) {
     }
   }
 
-  if(format_id == PLY_FORMAT_INVALID) {
-    fprintf(stderr, "unknown format %s\n", line);
+  if(format_id != PLY_FORMAT_BE && format_id != PLY_FORMAT_LE) {
+    fprintf(stderr, "can only parse binary PLY files\n");
     goto close;
   }