Restructuring Costs (Details) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2017	Jan. 31, 2016	Jan. 31, 2015
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Amount of unpaid costs	$ 0	$ 0
Restructuring costs	0	661,000	$ 399,000
Payments for Restructuring		55,000	344,000
Cost of Sales [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			250,000
Selling, General and Administrative Expenses [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			149,000
Applied Technology [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		588,000	308,000
Proceeds from Sale of Productive Assets	960,000	1,288,000
Receivable from sale of business	28,000
Applied Technology [Member] | Cost of Sales [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		407,000
Applied Technology [Member] | Selling, General and Administrative Expenses [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		181,000
Engineered Films [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs			$ 91,000
Vista Research [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Amount of unpaid costs		0
Restructuring costs		73,000
Vista Research [Member] | Cost of Sales [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		58,000
Vista Research [Member] | Research and Development Expense [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Restructuring costs		15,000
Operating Segments [Member] | Applied Technology [Member]
Restructuring Cost and Reserve [Line Items]
Gain on disposal of assets	$ 160,000	$ 611,000