Note 10 - Operating Segments (Details Textual) - USD ($)	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2020	Jun. 30, 2019
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 12,874,000	$ 14,518,000	$ 36,907,000	$ 35,658,000
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	$ 3,131,000	$ 4,507,000	$ 11,195,000	$ 12,711,000
Traditional Business [Member] | Transferred at Point in Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	1,872,000	3,188,000	7,338,000	8,781,000
Traditional Business [Member] | Transferred over Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	1,259,000	1,319,000	3,857,000	3,930,000
Journal Technologies [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 9,743,000	$ 10,011,000	$ 25,712,000	$ 22,947,000
Journal Technologies [Member] | Revenue Benchmark [Member] | Product Concentration Risk [Member]
Concentration Risk, Percentage	76.00%	69.00%	70.00%	64.00%
Journal Technologies [Member] | Transferred at Point in Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 4,258,000	$ 4,576,000	$ 9,889,000	$ 8,611,000
Journal Technologies [Member] | Transferred over Time [Member]
Revenue from Contract with Customer, Including Assessed Tax	$ 5,485,000	$ 5,435,000	$ 15,823,000	$ 14,336,000