Note 10 - Operating Segments (Details Textual) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019	Mar. 31, 2020	Mar. 31, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 12,356,000	$ 10,712,000	$ 24,033,000	$ 21,140,000
Revenue Benchmark [Member] | Product Concentration Risk [Member] | Non-US [Member]
Concentration Risk, Percentage	1.00%	1.00%	1.00%	1.00%
Traditional Business [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 3,932,000	$ 4,005,000	$ 8,064,000	$ 8,204,000
Traditional Business [Member] | Transferred at Point in Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	2,646,000	2,732,000	5,466,000	5,593,000
Traditional Business [Member] | Transferred over Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	1,286,000	1,273,000	2,598,000	2,611,000
Journal Technologies [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 8,424,000	$ 6,707,000	$ 15,969,000	$ 12,936,000
Journal Technologies [Member] | Revenue Benchmark [Member] | Product Concentration Risk [Member]
Concentration Risk, Percentage	68.00%	63.00%	66.00%	61.00%
Journal Technologies [Member] | Transferred at Point in Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 3,177,000	$ 2,100,000	$ 5,631,000	$ 4,035,000
Journal Technologies [Member] | Transferred over Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 5,247,000	$ 4,607,000	$ 10,338,000	$ 8,901,000