diff --git a/examples/test_examples.py b/examples/test_examples.py
index 3e6b8200..ae88b087 100644
--- a/examples/test_examples.py
+++ b/examples/test_examples.py
@@ -3,6 +3,34 @@ from pyqtgraph import Qt
 from . import utils
 import itertools
 import pytest
+import os, sys
+
+
+# printing on travis ci frequently leads to "interrupted system call" errors.
+# as a workaround, we overwrite the built-in print function (bleh)
+if os.getenv('TRAVIS') is not None:
+    if sys.version_info[0] < 3:
+        import __builtin__ as builtins
+    else:
+        import builtins
+
+    def flaky_print(*args):
+        """Wrapper for print that retries in case of IOError.
+        """
+        count = 0
+        while count < 5:
+            count += 1
+            try:
+                orig_print(*args)
+                break
+            except IOError:
+                if count >= 5:
+                    raise
+                pass
+    orig_print = builtins.print
+    builtins.print = flaky_print
+    print("Installed wrapper for flaky print.")
+
 
 # apparently importlib does not exist in python 2.6...
 try: