diff --git a/cmd/goal/application.go b/cmd/goal/application.go
index 4121564adc..0e5c6e4e81 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/application.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/application.go
@@ -24,8 +24,6 @@ import (
 	"os"
 	"strconv"
 	"strings"
-	"unicode"
-	"unicode/utf8"
 
 	"github.com/spf13/cobra"
 
@@ -920,170 +918,6 @@ var deleteAppCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	},
 }
 
-func unicodePrintable(str string) bool {
-	for _, r := range str {
-		if !unicode.IsPrint(r) {
-			return false
-		}
-	}
-	return true
-}
-
-func jsonPrintable(str string) bool {
-	// htmlSafeSet holds the value true if the ASCII character with the given
-	// array position can be safely represented inside a JSON string, embedded
-	// inside of HTML <script> tags, without any additional escaping.
-	//
-	// All values are true except for the ASCII control characters (0-31), the
-	// double quote ("), the backslash character ("\"), HTML opening and closing
-	// tags ("<" and ">"), and the ampersand ("&").
-	var htmlSafeSet = [utf8.RuneSelf]bool{
-		' ':      true,
-		'!':      true,
-		'"':      false,
-		'#':      true,
-		'$':      true,
-		'%':      true,
-		'&':      false,
-		'\'':     true,
-		'(':      true,
-		')':      true,
-		'*':      true,
-		'+':      true,
-		',':      true,
-		'-':      true,
-		'.':      true,
-		'/':      true,
-		'0':      true,
-		'1':      true,
-		'2':      true,
-		'3':      true,
-		'4':      true,
-		'5':      true,
-		'6':      true,
-		'7':      true,
-		'8':      true,
-		'9':      true,
-		':':      true,
-		';':      true,
-		'<':      false,
-		'=':      true,
-		'>':      false,
-		'?':      true,
-		'@':      true,
-		'A':      true,
-		'B':      true,
-		'C':      true,
-		'D':      true,
-		'E':      true,
-		'F':      true,
-		'G':      true,
-		'H':      true,
-		'I':      true,
-		'J':      true,
-		'K':      true,
-		'L':      true,
-		'M':      true,
-		'N':      true,
-		'O':      true,
-		'P':      true,
-		'Q':      true,
-		'R':      true,
-		'S':      true,
-		'T':      true,
-		'U':      true,
-		'V':      true,
-		'W':      true,
-		'X':      true,
-		'Y':      true,
-		'Z':      true,
-		'[':      true,
-		'\\':     false,
-		']':      true,
-		'^':      true,
-		'_':      true,
-		'`':      true,
-		'a':      true,
-		'b':      true,
-		'c':      true,
-		'd':      true,
-		'e':      true,
-		'f':      true,
-		'g':      true,
-		'h':      true,
-		'i':      true,
-		'j':      true,
-		'k':      true,
-		'l':      true,
-		'm':      true,
-		'n':      true,
-		'o':      true,
-		'p':      true,
-		'q':      true,
-		'r':      true,
-		's':      true,
-		't':      true,
-		'u':      true,
-		'v':      true,
-		'w':      true,
-		'x':      true,
-		'y':      true,
-		'z':      true,
-		'{':      true,
-		'|':      true,
-		'}':      true,
-		'~':      true,
-		'\u007f': true,
-	}
-
-	for _, r := range str {
-		if r >= utf8.RuneSelf {
-			return false
-		}
-		if htmlSafeSet[r] == false {
-			return false
-		}
-	}
-	return true
-}
-
-func heuristicFormatStr(str string) string {
-	// See if we can print it as a json output
-	if jsonPrintable(str) {
-		return str
-	}
-
-	// otherwise, see if it's a 32 byte string that could be printed as an address
-	if len(str) == 32 {
-		var addr basics.Address
-		copy(addr[:], []byte(str))
-		return addr.String()
-	}
-
-	// otherwise, use the default json formatter to output the byte array.
-	return str
-}
-
-func heuristicFormatKey(key string) string {
-	return heuristicFormatStr(key)
-}
-
-func heuristicFormatVal(val basics.TealValue) basics.TealValue {
-	if val.Type == basics.TealUintType {
-		return val
-	}
-	val.Bytes = heuristicFormatStr(val.Bytes)
-	return val
-}
-
-func heuristicFormat(state map[string]basics.TealValue) map[string]basics.TealValue {
-	result := make(map[string]basics.TealValue)
-	for k, v := range state {
-		result[heuristicFormatKey(k)] = heuristicFormatVal(v)
-	}
-	return result
-}
-
 var readStateAppCmd = &cobra.Command{
 	Use:   "read",
 	Short: "Read local or global state for an application",
diff --git a/cmd/goal/commands.go b/cmd/goal/commands.go
index d458beef45..72719bdfae 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/commands.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/commands.go
@@ -492,36 +492,50 @@ func ensurePassword() []byte {
 }
 
 func reportInfoln(args ...interface{}) {
-	fmt.Println(args...)
-	// log.Infoln(args...)
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(fmt.Sprint(args...), "\n") {
+		printable, line := unicodePrintable(line)
+		if !printable {
+			fmt.Println(infoNonPrintableCharacters)
+		}
+		fmt.Println(line)
+	}
 }
 
 func reportInfof(format string, args ...interface{}) {
-	fmt.Printf(format+"\n", args...)
-	// log.Infof(format, args...)
+	reportInfoln(fmt.Sprintf(format, args...))
 }
 
 func reportWarnln(args ...interface{}) {
 	fmt.Print("Warning: ")
-	fmt.Println(args...)
-	// log.Warnln(args...)
+
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(fmt.Sprint(args...), "\n") {
+		printable, line := unicodePrintable(line)
+		if !printable {
+			fmt.Println(infoNonPrintableCharacters)
+		}
+
+		fmt.Println(line)
+	}
 }
 
 func reportWarnf(format string, args ...interface{}) {
-	fmt.Printf("Warning: "+format+"\n", args...)
-	// log.Warnf(format, args...)
+	reportWarnln(fmt.Sprintf(format, args...))
 }
 
 func reportErrorln(args ...interface{}) {
-	fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, args...)
-	// log.Warnln(args...)
+	outStr := fmt.Sprint(args...)
+	for _, line := range strings.Split(outStr, "\n") {
+		printable, line := unicodePrintable(line)
+		if !printable {
+			fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, errorNonPrintableCharacters)
+		}
+		fmt.Fprintln(os.Stderr, line)
+	}
 	os.Exit(1)
 }
 
 func reportErrorf(format string, args ...interface{}) {
-	fmt.Fprintf(os.Stderr, format+"\n", args...)
-	// log.Warnf(format, args...)
-	os.Exit(1)
+	reportErrorln(fmt.Sprintf(format, args...))
 }
 
 // writeFile is a wrapper of ioutil.WriteFile which considers the special
diff --git a/cmd/goal/formatting.go b/cmd/goal/formatting.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..fa2fef1267
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/goal/formatting.go
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2019-2020 Algorand, Inc.
+// This file is part of go-algorand
+//
+// go-algorand is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+// published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+// License, or (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// go-algorand is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with go-algorand.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"unicode"
+	"unicode/utf8"
+
+	"github.com/algorand/go-algorand/data/basics"
+)
+
+// unicodePrintable scan the input string str, and find if it contains any
+// non-printable unicode characters. If so, it returns false, along with the
+// printable characters that do appear in the input string. Otherwise, it
+// returns true, along with a copy of the original string. The returned string
+// printableString is gurenteed to be printable in all cases.
+func unicodePrintable(str string) (isPrintable bool, printableString string) {
+	isPrintable = true
+	encRuneBuf := make([]byte, 8)
+	for _, r := range str {
+		if !unicode.IsPrint(r) {
+			isPrintable = false
+		} else {
+			n := utf8.EncodeRune(encRuneBuf, r)
+			printableString += string(encRuneBuf[:n])
+		}
+	}
+	return
+}
+
+func jsonPrintable(str string) bool {
+	// htmlSafeSet holds the value true if the ASCII character with the given
+	// array position can be safely represented inside a JSON string, embedded
+	// inside of HTML <script> tags, without any additional escaping.
+	//
+	// All values are true except for the ASCII control characters (0-31), the
+	// double quote ("), the backslash character ("\"), HTML opening and closing
+	// tags ("<" and ">"), and the ampersand ("&").
+	var htmlSafeSet = [utf8.RuneSelf]bool{
+		' ':      true,
+		'!':      true,
+		'"':      false,
+		'#':      true,
+		'$':      true,
+		'%':      true,
+		'&':      false,
+		'\'':     true,
+		'(':      true,
+		')':      true,
+		'*':      true,
+		'+':      true,
+		',':      true,
+		'-':      true,
+		'.':      true,
+		'/':      true,
+		'0':      true,
+		'1':      true,
+		'2':      true,
+		'3':      true,
+		'4':      true,
+		'5':      true,
+		'6':      true,
+		'7':      true,
+		'8':      true,
+		'9':      true,
+		':':      true,
+		';':      true,
+		'<':      false,
+		'=':      true,
+		'>':      false,
+		'?':      true,
+		'@':      true,
+		'A':      true,
+		'B':      true,
+		'C':      true,
+		'D':      true,
+		'E':      true,
+		'F':      true,
+		'G':      true,
+		'H':      true,
+		'I':      true,
+		'J':      true,
+		'K':      true,
+		'L':      true,
+		'M':      true,
+		'N':      true,
+		'O':      true,
+		'P':      true,
+		'Q':      true,
+		'R':      true,
+		'S':      true,
+		'T':      true,
+		'U':      true,
+		'V':      true,
+		'W':      true,
+		'X':      true,
+		'Y':      true,
+		'Z':      true,
+		'[':      true,
+		'\\':     false,
+		']':      true,
+		'^':      true,
+		'_':      true,
+		'`':      true,
+		'a':      true,
+		'b':      true,
+		'c':      true,
+		'd':      true,
+		'e':      true,
+		'f':      true,
+		'g':      true,
+		'h':      true,
+		'i':      true,
+		'j':      true,
+		'k':      true,
+		'l':      true,
+		'm':      true,
+		'n':      true,
+		'o':      true,
+		'p':      true,
+		'q':      true,
+		'r':      true,
+		's':      true,
+		't':      true,
+		'u':      true,
+		'v':      true,
+		'w':      true,
+		'x':      true,
+		'y':      true,
+		'z':      true,
+		'{':      true,
+		'|':      true,
+		'}':      true,
+		'~':      true,
+		'\u007f': true,
+	}
+
+	for _, r := range str {
+		if r >= utf8.RuneSelf {
+			return false
+		}
+		if htmlSafeSet[r] == false {
+			return false
+		}
+	}
+	return true
+}
+
+func heuristicFormatStr(str string) string {
+	// See if we can print it as a json output
+	if jsonPrintable(str) {
+		return str
+	}
+
+	// otherwise, see if it's a 32 byte string that could be printed as an address
+	if len(str) == 32 {
+		var addr basics.Address
+		copy(addr[:], []byte(str))
+		return addr.String()
+	}
+
+	// otherwise, use the default json formatter to output the byte array.
+	return str
+}
+
+func heuristicFormatKey(key string) string {
+	return heuristicFormatStr(key)
+}
+
+func heuristicFormatVal(val basics.TealValue) basics.TealValue {
+	if val.Type == basics.TealUintType {
+		return val
+	}
+	val.Bytes = heuristicFormatStr(val.Bytes)
+	return val
+}
+
+func heuristicFormat(state map[string]basics.TealValue) map[string]basics.TealValue {
+	result := make(map[string]basics.TealValue)
+	for k, v := range state {
+		result[heuristicFormatKey(k)] = heuristicFormatVal(v)
+	}
+	return result
+}
diff --git a/cmd/goal/formatting_test.go b/cmd/goal/formatting_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..6af7190a2a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/cmd/goal/formatting_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,42 @@
+// Copyright (C) 2019-2020 Algorand, Inc.
+// This file is part of go-algorand
+//
+// go-algorand is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU Affero General Public License as
+// published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the
+// License, or (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// go-algorand is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU Affero General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU Affero General Public License
+// along with go-algorand.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+package main
+
+import (
+	"testing"
+
+	"github.com/stretchr/testify/require"
+)
+
+func TestUnicodePrintable(t *testing.T) {
+	testUnicodePrintableStrings := []struct {
+		testString      string
+		isPrintable     bool
+		printableString string
+	}{
+		{"abc", true, "abc"},
+		{"", true, ""},
+		{"אבג", true, "אבג"},
+		{"\u001b[31mABC\u001b[0m", false, "[31mABC[0m"},
+		{"ab\nc", false, "abc"},
+	}
+	for _, testElement := range testUnicodePrintableStrings {
+		isPrintable, printableString := unicodePrintable(testElement.testString)
+		require.Equalf(t, testElement.isPrintable, isPrintable, "test string:%s", testElement.testString)
+		require.Equalf(t, testElement.printableString, printableString, "test string:%s", testElement.testString)
+	}
+}
diff --git a/cmd/goal/interact.go b/cmd/goal/interact.go
index a619f163db..4f08f5c8a1 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/interact.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/interact.go
@@ -128,7 +128,7 @@ func appSpecStringInvalid(s string) error {
 }
 
 func appSpecHelpStringInvalid(s string) error {
-	if !unicodePrintable(s) {
+	if printable, _ := unicodePrintable(s); !printable {
 		return fmt.Errorf("%s is not Unicode printable", strconv.Quote(s))
 	}
 	return nil
@@ -715,7 +715,7 @@ var appQueryCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		case "int", "integer":
 			if tealval.Type == 0 {
 				if meta.Explicit {
-					reportErrorf("%s not set for %s.%s", param, appIdx, storeName)
+					reportErrorf("%s not set for %d.%s", param, appIdx, storeName)
 				}
 			} else if tealval.Type != basics.TealUintType {
 				reportErrorf("Expected kind %s but got teal type %s", meta.Kind, tealval.Type)
@@ -724,7 +724,7 @@ var appQueryCmd = &cobra.Command{
 		default:
 			if tealval.Type == 0 {
 				if meta.Explicit {
-					reportErrorf("%s not set for %s.%s", param, appIdx, storeName)
+					reportErrorf("%s not set for %d.%s", param, appIdx, storeName)
 				}
 			} else if tealval.Type != basics.TealBytesType {
 				reportErrorf("Expected kind %s but got teal type %s", meta.Kind, tealval.Type)
diff --git a/cmd/goal/messages.go b/cmd/goal/messages.go
index 868447aaf6..439b24014b 100644
--- a/cmd/goal/messages.go
+++ b/cmd/goal/messages.go
@@ -18,12 +18,14 @@ package main
 
 const (
 	// General
-	errorNoDataDirectory     = "Data directory not specified.  Please use -d or set $ALGORAND_DATA in your environment. Exiting."
-	errorOneDataDirSupported = "Only one data directory can be specified for this command."
-	errorRequestFail         = "Error processing command: %s"
-	errorGenesisIDFail       = "Error determining kmd folder (%s). Ensure the node is running in %s."
-	errorDirectoryNotExist   = "Specified directory '%s' does not exist."
-	errorParseAddr           = "Failed to parse addr: %v"
+	errorNoDataDirectory        = "Data directory not specified.  Please use -d or set $ALGORAND_DATA in your environment. Exiting."
+	errorOneDataDirSupported    = "Only one data directory can be specified for this command."
+	errorRequestFail            = "Error processing command: %s"
+	errorGenesisIDFail          = "Error determining kmd folder (%s). Ensure the node is running in %s."
+	errorDirectoryNotExist      = "Specified directory '%s' does not exist."
+	errorParseAddr              = "Failed to parse addr: %v"
+	errorNonPrintableCharacters = "One or more non-printable characters were ommited from the following error message:"
+	infoNonPrintableCharacters  = "One or more non-printable characters were ommited from the subsequent line:"
 
 	// Account
 	infoNoAccounts                 = "Did not find any account. Please import or create a new one."
diff --git a/test/e2e-go/cli/goal/expect/goalFormattingTest.exp b/test/e2e-go/cli/goal/expect/goalFormattingTest.exp
new file mode 100644
index 0000000000..281c53c3db
--- /dev/null
+++ b/test/e2e-go/cli/goal/expect/goalFormattingTest.exp
@@ -0,0 +1,55 @@
+#!/usr/bin/expect -f
+set err 0
+log_user 1
+
+if { [catch {
+
+    source  goalExpectCommon.exp
+    set TEST_ALGO_DIR [lindex $argv 0]
+    set TEST_DATA_DIR [lindex $argv 1]
+
+    puts "TEST_ALGO_DIR: $TEST_ALGO_DIR"
+
+    set TIME_STAMP [clock seconds]
+
+    # generate invalid transaction file. ( we want to see that goal is ommitting the control characters when printing out the error message )
+    exec echo {{ "\u001b[0G\u001b[0K\u001b[33munexpected_key\u001b[0m": 2 }} > $TEST_ALGO_DIR/tx.json
+    exec cat $TEST_ALGO_DIR/tx.json | msgpacktool -e -b32 > $TEST_ALGO_DIR/tx
+    exec rm $TEST_ALGO_DIR/tx.json
+
+    set NON_PRINTABLE_CHARS_WARNING 0
+    set CANNOT_DECODE_MESSAGE 0
+    spawn goal clerk inspect $TEST_ALGO_DIR/tx
+    expect {
+        timeout { close; ::AlgorandGoal::Abort "failed to inspect transaction file within timeout" }
+        {One or more non-printable characters were ommited from the following error message:} {
+            set NON_PRINTABLE_CHARS_WARNING 1
+            exp_continue
+        }
+        {Cannot decode transactions from *: msgpack decode error \[pos 33\]: no matching struct field found when decoding stream map with key \[0G\[0K\[33munexpected_key\[0m} {
+            set CANNOT_DECODE_MESSAGE 1
+            exp_continue
+        }
+        eof {
+            if {$CANNOT_DECODE_MESSAGE == 0 || $NON_PRINTABLE_CHARS_WARNING == 0} {
+                puts "eof received before the expected output " 
+                exit 1
+            }      
+        }
+    }
+
+    lassign [::AlgorandGoal::CheckProcessReturnedCode 0] response OS_CODE ERROR_CODE KILLED KILL_SIGNAL EXP
+    if {$ERROR_CODE != 1} {
+        puts "goal was expected to fail with 1 due to invalid transaction file, but returned error code $ERROR_CODE instead"
+        exit 1
+    }
+
+    exec rm $TEST_ALGO_DIR/tx
+
+    puts "Goal Formatting Test Successful"
+
+    exit 0
+} EXCEPTION] } {
+    puts "ERROR in goalFormattingTest: $EXCEPTION"
+    exit 1
+}