Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		6 Months Ended
	Apr. 29, 2018	Apr. 30, 2017	Apr. 29, 2018	Apr. 30, 2017
Condensed Consolidated Statements of Income (unaudited) [Abstract]
Revenue	$ 130,779	$ 108,297	$ 254,225	$ 218,128
Cost of goods sold	(97,960)	(88,140)	(193,744)	(174,973)
Gross profit	32,819	20,157	60,481	43,155
Operating expenses:
Selling, general and administrative	(13,637)	(10,894)	(25,387)	(21,764)
Research and development	(3,817)	(3,726)	(7,921)	(7,212)
Total operating expenses	(17,454)	(14,620)	(33,308)	(28,976)
Operating income	15,365	5,537	27,173	14,179
Other income (expense):
Interest income and other income (expense), net	3,883	(3,073)	351	(4,596)
Interest expense	(551)	(549)	(1,125)	(1,108)
Income before income taxes	18,697	1,915	26,399	8,475
Income tax provision	(3,508)	(431)	(1,729)	(2,481)
Net income	15,189	1,484	24,670	5,994
Net (income) loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	(4,524)	313	(8,107)	(2,250)
Net income attributable to Photronics, Inc. shareholders	$ 10,665	$ 1,797	$ 16,563	$ 3,744
Earnings per share:
Basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.15	$ 0.03	$ 0.24	$ 0.05
Diluted (in dollars per share)	$ 0.15	$ 0.03	$ 0.23	$ 0.05
Weighted-average number of common shares outstanding:
Basic (in shares)	69,293	68,426	69,024	68,301
Diluted (in shares)	75,190	69,385	75,052	69,277