Debt (Details) In Millions, unless otherwise specified	9 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended				3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	9 Months Ended						9 Months Ended			9 Months Ended		12 Months Ended											9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2012 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 USD ($)	Oct. 16, 2012 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2012 Senior Notes due November 2014	Apr. 30, 2012 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2011 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2004 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2010 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2011 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Nov. 14, 2012 Senior Notes due November 2014	Dec. 31, 2011 Senior Notes due November 2014 USD ($)	Oct. 11, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 Prime rate	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 Prime rate Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 Prime rate Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 LIBOR	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 LIBOR Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Revolving bank credit facility due November 2015 LIBOR Maximum	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany project financing USD ($) installment	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany project financing EUR (€) installment	Dec. 31, 2006 Neenah Germany project financing EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Neenah Germany project financing USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2011 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) HypoVereinsbank USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) HypoVereinsbank EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) HypoVereinsbank	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) Total Commerzbank borrowings USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) Total Commerzbank borrowings EUR (€)	Feb. 29, 2012 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) Total Commerzbank borrowings EUR (€)	Dec. 31, 2011 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) Total Commerzbank borrowings	Jan. 31, 2011 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) Total Commerzbank borrowings EUR (€)	Sep. 30, 2012 Neenah Germany revolving lines of credit (variable rates) Minimum	Sep. 30, 2012 Letter of Credit and others USD ($)	Oct. 16, 2012 Term loan USD ($)
Debt
Total debt	$ 183.1		$ 186.2						$ 148.0		$ 148.0			$ 158.0											$ 7.3			$ 8.1												$ 30.0
Less: Debt payable within one year	1.6		21.7
Long-term debt	181.5		164.5
Fixed rate of interest (as a percent)									7.375%		7.375%														3.80%	3.80%
Number of equal semi-annual installments																									16	16
Total additional borrowings								225.0																			10.0
Total term of notes								10 years							2 years												10 years
Aggregate principal amount of debt redeemed early				58		10	65			2
Pre-tax loss, including the write-off of related unamortized debt issuance costs	(0.2)	(2.4)							(0.2)		(0.2)	(2.4)
Percentage of principal amount at which debt may be redeemed					100.00%								101.229%
Maximum borrowing capacity															105.0	95.0															15.0				5.0		3.0
Sublimit of letters of credit commitment															10
Minimum extended term															90 days
Maximum borrowing capacity that may be increased																150
Debt instrument variable rate basis																			prime rate			LIBOR
Debt instrument basis spread on variable rate (as a percent)																				0.75%	1.00%		2.25%	2.50%
Facility fee on unused amount of Revolver commitment (as a percent)																	0.375%	0.50%
Weighted-average interest rate (as a percent)																2.90%																3.80%				3.60%
Total outstanding																27.8										5.6			20.1
Available credit																66.5														19.3	15.0		6.5	5.0
Outstanding letters of credit																																							0.7
Borrowing availability for not achieving the fixed charge coverage ratio																20
Fixed charge coverage ratio required																1.1
Period for maintaining a fixed charge coverage ratio																12 months
Dividend restriction																8
Amount of company stock allowed to be repurchased on or before December 31, 2012																15
Amount of company stock allowed to be repurchased annually after 2012																$ 10
Stockholder's equity to total assets ratio (as a percent)																																						45.00%