Variable Interest Entities (Details Textual) (USD $) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended				9 Months Ended						3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2012	Jul. 31, 2011	Jul. 31, 2012	Jul. 31, 2011	Oct. 31, 2011	Mar. 28, 2005 acre	Jul. 31, 2012 Asset Company [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 Trading Company [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 STA Timber [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 STA Timber [Member]	Oct. 31, 2011 STA Timber [Member]	May 31, 2005 STA Timber [Member] Monetization Notes [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 Flexible Products JV [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Flexible Products JV [Member]	Jul. 31, 2012 Flexible Products JV [Member]	Jul. 31, 2011 Flexible Products JV [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Senior secured notes												5.20%
Maturity date												Aug. 05, 2020
Debt instrument, principal outstanding									$ 43.3		$ 43.3	$ 43.3
Interest Expense	22.7	18.4	70.5	53.8					1.7	1.7
Variable Interest Entity [Line Items]
Ownership percentage in Variable Interest Entity							49.00%	51.00%
Noncontrolling Interest [Line Items]
Outstanding advances receivables													5.1		5.1
Noncontrolling interests attributable to the flexible packaging JV													0.4	(0.1)	(4.2)	(3.5)
Variable Interest Entities (Additional Textual) [Abstract]
Commitment to obtain third party financing			up to $150 million
Approximate acres of timberland to be sold under agreement with Plum Creek Timberland						56,000
Acres of timberland sold under the agreement						35,000
Approximate value of sale agreement with Plum Creek Timberland						90
Value of timberland sold under the agreement						51.0
Purchase notes payable						50.9
Maximum amount of guarantee on purchase notes						52.3
Extended date	Nov. 05, 2020		Nov. 05, 2020
Restricted bank financial instruments under buyer SPE	50.9		50.9		50.9
Committed capital contribution			150
Interest income of Buyer SPE			1.8	1.8
Variable interest entities outstanding advances	0.6		0.6
Interest bearing short term borrowing	$ 11.4		$ 11.4