Low-pressure plasma treatments with subsequent immobilization of functional macromolecules from aqueous solution have gained an increasing popularity for its applications in new industrial processes. In this work, two different strategies to endow polyester fabrics (PET) with accessible primary amino groups are compared. (a) NH2 groups were produced directly using low-pressure ammonia plasma. (b) Negatively charged groups were introduced by low-pressure oxygen plasma to hydrophilize the fabric surfaces and used as anchor groups for the immobilization of water-borne polyelectrolyte copolymers poly(vinyl amine-co-vinyl amide) (PVAm). To study the effects of these surface modifications, a combination of various surface-sensitive characterization techniques such as X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), streaming potential measurements and time-dependent contact angle measurements were used. Furthermore, the influence of the pre-treatments on the interaction of PET fabrics with water-soluble dyes was evaluated. For that purpose, color strength and fastness tests were carried out to prove the effectiveness of pre-treatments. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved.