diff --git a/scikits/image/io/tests/test_pil.py b/scikits/image/io/tests/test_pil.py
index f039f812..311cb2b8 100644
--- a/scikits/image/io/tests/test_pil.py
+++ b/scikits/image/io/tests/test_pil.py
@@ -5,9 +5,11 @@ from numpy.testing import *
 from tempfile import NamedTemporaryFile
 
 from scikits.image import data_dir
-from scikits.image.io import imread, imsave
+from scikits.image.io import imread, imsave, use_plugin
 from scikits.image.io._plugins.pil_plugin import _palette_is_grayscale
 
+use_plugin('pil')
+
 def test_imread_flatten():
     # a color image is flattened
     img = imread(os.path.join(data_dir, 'color.png'), flatten=True)