Goodwill and Other Long-Lived Assets - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	3 Months Ended			6 Months Ended	9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended	3 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		3 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012	Jul. 01, 2012	Apr. 01, 2012	Jul. 01, 2012	Sep. 30, 2012	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Voice Solutions	Dec. 31, 2012 Voice Solutions Supply Chain	Dec. 31, 2012 Voice Solutions Healthcare	Jul. 01, 2012 Voice Solutions Q1 Impairment Supply Chain	Apr. 01, 2012 Voice Solutions Q1 Impairment Supply Chain	Dec. 31, 2012 Voice Solutions Q1 Impairment Supply Chain	Jul. 01, 2012 Voice Solutions Q2 Impairment Healthcare	Dec. 31, 2012 Voice Solutions Q4 Impairment Healthcare	Dec. 31, 2012 Intermec-Branded Services	Dec. 31, 2012 Intermec-Branded Services Intermec Global Solutions	Dec. 31, 2012 Intermec-Branded Services Q4 Impairment Intermec Global Solutions
Goodwill and Other Assets Disclosure [Line Items]
Number of goodwill impairment triggering events			2
Income (Loss) from Continuing Operations Attributable to Parent			$ 19,000,000
Number of reportable segments					3
Impairment of goodwill	(686,000)	32,369,000		47,294,000	46,608,000	51,157,000	0	0	47,809,000	41,174,000	6,635,000	26,300,000	14,900,000	41,200,000	5,400,000	1,200,000	3,348,000	3,348,000	3,300,000
Number Of Reporting Units						3
Operating profit (loss)	$ 9,503,000	$ (39,358,000)		$ (72,974,000)	$ (63,471,000)	$ (63,685,000)	$ (6,245,000)	$ 291,000