diff --git a/nd2reader/__init__.py b/nd2reader/__init__.py
index 14bcdda7240372708326cab207a836dfdcce8a5c..970eb63936129eb738b4e96ae0fe2b7a544e63f7 100644
--- a/nd2reader/__init__.py
+++ b/nd2reader/__init__.py
@@ -10,4 +10,4 @@ import importlib.metadata as importlib_metadata
 try:
     __version__ = importlib_metadata.version(__name__)
 except:
-    print('Unable to read version number')
+    raise ValueError('Unable to read version number')