QUARTERLY RESULTS OF OPERATIONS (UNAUDITED) (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended									12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2019	Jul. 28, 2019	Apr. 28, 2019	Jan. 27, 2019	Oct. 31, 2018	Jul. 29, 2018	Apr. 29, 2018		Jan. 28, 2018	Oct. 31, 2019		Oct. 31, 2018		Oct. 29, 2017
Selected Quarterly Financial Data (Unaudited) [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 156,256	$ 138,112	$ 131,580	$ 124,712	$ 144,660	$ 136,391	$ 130,779	[1]	$ 123,446	$ 550,660	[1]	$ 535,276	[1]	$ 450,678
Gross profit	38,159	30,570	26,010	26,102	35,425	35,597	32,819	[1]	27,662	120,841		131,503	[1]	91,315
Net income	13,037	9,834	9,852	7,768	16,769	19,797	15,189	[1]	9,481	40,491		61,236	[1]	21,289
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 9,700	$ 6,347	$ 8,479	$ 5,267	$ 12,487	$ 13,005	$ 10,665	[1]	$ 5,898	$ 29,793		$ 42,055	[1]	$ 13,130
Earnings per share [Abstract]
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.15	$ 0.10	$ 0.13	$ 0.08	$ 0.18	$ 0.19	$ 0.15	[1]	$ 0.09	$ 0.45		$ 0.61	[1]	$ 0.19
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.15	$ 0.10	$ 0.13	$ 0.08	$ 0.18	$ 0.18	$ 0.15	[1]	$ 0.09	$ 0.44		$ 0.59	[1]	$ 0.19
Gain on sale of assets							$ 600					$ 600

[1] Includes $0.6 million gain on sale of assets.