diff --git a/xelb-gen b/xelb-gen
index 7873d12..476e33e 100755
--- a/xelb-gen
+++ b/xelb-gen
@@ -179,6 +179,7 @@ an `xelb-auto-padding' attribute."
 (defun xelb-parse (file)
   "Parse an XCB protocol description file FILE (XML)."
   (let ((pp-escape-newlines nil)        ;do not escape newlines
+        (pp-default-function 'pp-28)    ;avoid unecessary churn
         result header)
     (with-temp-buffer
       (insert-file-contents file)