It is very difficult to predict the occurrence of undyed specks on the surface of cotton fabrics from average fiber properties such as Micronaire, fineness, maturity, length, and color. It is postulated that distribution of single fiber properties such as maturity or fineness may play a role in the prediction of these defects. A study was conducted with eight cotton representing a wide range (thirty-fold) of propensities for creating dye defects. The effectiveness of fineness/maturity distributions as measured by image analysis is compared with the LSU web-nep test, the AFIS nep module, and typical fiber properties.