diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/printer.go b/pkg/yqlib/printer.go
index 361e3023..b4d9b9f0 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/printer.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/printer.go
@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ func NewPrinter(writer io.Writer, outputToJSON bool, unwrapScalar bool, colorsEn
 		unwrapScalar:       unwrapScalar,
 		colorsEnabled:      colorsEnabled,
 		indent:             indent,
-		printDocSeparators: printDocSeparators,
+		printDocSeparators: !outputToJSON && printDocSeparators,
 		firstTimePrinting:  true,
 		treeNavigator:      NewDataTreeNavigator(),
 	}
diff --git a/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go b/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go
index fdb51736..5bad9ff5 100644
--- a/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go
+++ b/pkg/yqlib/printer_test.go
@@ -130,7 +130,9 @@ func TestPrinterMultipleDocsInSinglePrint(t *testing.T) {
 func TestPrinterMultipleDocsJson(t *testing.T) {
 	var output bytes.Buffer
 	var writer = bufio.NewWriter(&output)
-	printer := NewPrinter(writer, true, true, false, 0, false)
+	// note printDocSeparators is true, it should still not print document separators
+	// when outputing JSON.
+	printer := NewPrinter(writer, true, true, false, 0, true)
 
 	inputs, err := readDocuments(strings.NewReader(multiDocSample), "sample.yml", 0)
 	if err != nil {