A series of monochloros-triazinyl (MCT) and related m-carboxypyridiniumstriazinyl (nicotinic acid [NTR]) reactive dyes based on the same red chromophore and bearing -NHCN, -OCH 3 , -N(CH 3 )SO 2 CH 3 , -N-methylphenyl and -OH "second-leg" substituents were evaluated in cold pad-batch dyeing. It was found that both the MCT and NTR dyes containing a cyanoamino second-leg substituent displayed a superior technical performance to the dyes bearing methoxy, Nmethyl(methylsulphonyl)amino, hydroxyl and N-methylaniline substituents. The results suggest that these technical benefits of dyeing are derived from the smaller molecule size and electronic effect of the cyanoamino group compared with the other second-leg substituents commonly used in both MCT and NTR reactive dye synthesis. Indeed, the use of the cyanoamino second leg on the studied red NTR reactive dyes offered a combination of short batch time, high fixation efficiency, good buildup properties and good wet fastness properties.