diff --git a/pilerBackup/pilerbackup.sh b/pilerBackup/pilerbackup.sh
index 8b39610..ec54ff0 100755
--- a/pilerBackup/pilerbackup.sh
+++ b/pilerBackup/pilerbackup.sh
@@ -198,12 +198,12 @@ newline() {
 
 # same as exitError but for signal captures
 trapExit () {
-    printf "${err}[%s] -- [ERROR] 99: Caught signal --${norm}\n" \
-            "$(stamp)" >> "$logFile"
+    printf "%s[%s] -- [ERROR] 99: Caught signal --%s\n" \
+            "$err" "$(stamp)" "$norm" >> "$logFile"
     cleanup
     # note script completion with error
-    printf "${err}[%s] --- %s execution was terminated via signal ---${norm}\n" \
-        "$(stamp)" "$scriptName" >> "$logFile"
+    printf "%s[%s] --- %s execution was terminated via signal ---%s\n" \
+        "$err" "$(stamp)" "$scriptName" "$norm" >> "$logFile"
     exit 99
 }