Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended
	Jan. 31, 2016	Feb. 01, 2015
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 129,956	$ 123,505
Cost and expenses:
Cost of sales	(94,520)	(95,321)
Selling, general and administrative	(12,198)	(11,944)
Research and development	(5,700)	(4,681)
Operating income	17,538	11,559
Other income (expense):
Gain on sale of investment	8,785	0
Interest expense	(1,174)	(1,370)
Interest and other income (expense), net	2,052	87
Income before income tax provision	27,201	10,276
Income tax provision	(3,700)	(3,134)
Net income	23,501	7,142
Net income attributable to noncontrolling interests	(2,499)	(3,305)
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 21,002	$ 3,837
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.31	$ 0.06
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.28	$ 0.06
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	66,807	66,066
Diluted (in shares)	79,136	67,020