EARNINGS PER SHARE (Details) (USD $) In Thousands, except Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended			3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 28, 2012	Jul. 29, 2012	Apr. 29, 2012	Jan. 29, 2012	Oct. 30, 2011	Jul. 31, 2011	May 01, 2011	Jan. 30, 2011	Oct. 28, 2012	Oct. 30, 2011	Oct. 31, 2010	Jan. 27, 2013 Subsequent Event [Member]	Oct. 28, 2012 Convertible Notes [Member]	Oct. 30, 2011 Convertible Notes [Member]	Oct. 31, 2010 Convertible Notes [Member]	Oct. 28, 2012 Common Stock Warrants [Member]	Oct. 30, 2011 Common Stock Warrants [Member]	Oct. 31, 2010 Common Stock Warrants [Member]	Oct. 28, 2012 Share-based Payment Awards [Member]	Oct. 30, 2011 Share-based Payment Awards [Member]	Oct. 31, 2010 Share-based Payment Awards [Member]
Calculation of basic and diluted earnings (loss) per share [Abstract]
Net income (loss) attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 3,832	$ 10,950	$ 8,818	$ 4,268	$ 9,291	$ 11,265	$ (16,438)	$ 12,111	$ 27,868	$ 16,229	$ 23,922
Effect of dilutive securities [Abstract]
Interest expense on convertible notes, net of related tax effects									6,168	0	4,085
Gain related to common stock warrants fair value adjustment									(94)	0	0
Earnings for diluted earnings per share									$ 33,942	$ 16,229	$ 28,007
Weighted-average common shares computations [Abstract]
Weighted-average common shares used for basic earnings per share (in shares)									60,055,000	57,030,000	53,433,000
Effect of dilutive securities [Abstract]
Share-based payment awards (in shares)									767,000	1,145,000	996,000
Common stock warrants (in shares)									219,000	283,000	63,000
Convertible notes (in shares)									15,423,000	0	11,311,000
Dilutive potential common shares (in shares)									16,409,000	1,428,000	12,370,000
Weighted-average common shares used for diluted earnings per share (in shares)									76,464,000	58,458,000	65,803,000
Basic earnings (loss) per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.06	$ 0.18	$ 0.15	$ 0.07	$ 0.16	$ 0.19	$ (0.3)	$ 0.23	$ 0.46	$ 0.28	$ 0.45
Diluted earnings (loss) per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.06	$ 0.16	$ 0.14	$ 0.07	$ 0.14	$ 0.16	$ (0.3)	$ 0.20	$ 0.44	$ 0.28	$ 0.43
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Total potentially dilutive shares excluded (in shares)									2,587,000	16,614,000	3,429,000		0	13,994,000	0	0	213,000	745,000	2,587,000	2,407,000	2,684,000
Subsequent Event [Line Items]
Share-based payment awards issued after fiscal year 2012 (in shares)												500,000