Notes Payable (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended		0 Months Ended	1 Months Ended		3 Months Ended				12 Months Ended	0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Nov. 24, 2010	Dec. 31, 2012 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement 2016 Credit Agreement [Member]	Mar. 07, 2012 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement 2016 Credit Agreement [Member]	Nov. 24, 2010 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Oct. 30, 2011 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Sep. 30, 2011 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Mar. 07, 2012 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Notes Payable under Revolving Credit Agreement Former Credit Agreement [Member]	Dec. 31, 2007 Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes, 6% Due May 15, 2017 [Member]	Nov. 24, 2010 Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes, 6% Due November 30, 2015 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2003 Senior Notes [Member] Senior Notes, 4.875% Due November 1, 2010 [Member]	Sep. 14, 2011 Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]	Sep. 14, 2011 Cash Contribution [Member] Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Common Stock Intermec [Member] Pension Plans, Defined Benefit [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Line of Credit Facility, Length of Agreement		4 years
Line of Credit Facility, Maximum Borrowing Capacity			$ 325,000,000						$ 245,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Amount Outstanding		0							0	0
Line of Credit Facility, Remaining Borrowing Capacity		325,000,000
Line of Credit Facility, Increase, Additional Borrowings							95,000,000	140,000,000
Defined Benefit Plan, Contributions by Employer														83,700,000	32,200,000
Defined Benefit Plan, Number of Shares of Equity Securities Contributed by Employer Included in Plan Assets																7,309,764
Repayments of Lines of Credit					65,000,000	30,000,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Stated Percentage											6.00%	6.00%	4.875%
Debt Instrument, Face Amount											360,000,000	250,000,000	200,000,000
Proceeds from Debt, Net of Issuance Costs											354,800,000	247,800,000
Debt Instrument, Interest Rate, Effective Percentage											6.19%	6.21%	5.04%
Repayments of Long-term Lines of Credit				140,000,000
Capital Contribution	$ 60,000,000