diff --git a/libavcodec/faxcompr.c b/libavcodec/faxcompr.c
index 9f1da4d279..417e0b6cb9 100644
--- a/libavcodec/faxcompr.c
+++ b/libavcodec/faxcompr.c
@@ -232,20 +232,19 @@ static int decode_group3_2d_line(AVCodecContext *avctx, GetBitContext *gb,
 static void put_line(uint8_t *dst, int size, int width, const int *runs)
 {
     PutBitContext pb;
-    int run, mode = 0, pix_left = width, run_idx = 0;
+    int run, mode = 1, pix_left = width, run_idx = 0;
 
     init_put_bits(&pb, dst, size*8);
     while(pix_left > 0){
         run = runs[run_idx++];
+        mode = !mode;
         if(!run){
-            mode = !mode;
             continue;
         }
         pix_left -= run;
         for(; run > 16; run -= 16)
             put_sbits(&pb, 16, -mode);
         put_sbits(&pb, run, -mode);
-        mode = !mode;
     }
 }