Document And Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 04, 2015	May 14, 2015
Document Information [Line Items]
Entity Registrant Name	Cartesian, Inc.
Entity Central Index Key	0001094814
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--01-02
Entity Filer Category	Smaller Reporting Company
Trading Symbol	CRTN
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding		8,729,148
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 04, 2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2016