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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $) | 12 Months Ended
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Jan. 31, 2015 | Jan. 31, 2014
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Highly liquid investments with an original maturity | 90 days or less |
Cash of held in foreign bank accounts | $ 2,995,000 alot_CashHeldInForeignBankAccounts | $ 2,544,000 alot_CashHeldInForeignBankAccounts
Depreciation expense | 1,361,000 us-gaap_Depreciation | 1,279,000 us-gaap_Depreciation
Net foreign exchange losses | 219,000 us-gaap_TranslationAdjustmentFunctionalToReportingCurrencyNetOfTaxPeriodIncreaseDecrease | 190,000 us-gaap_TranslationAdjustmentFunctionalToReportingCurrencyNetOfTaxPeriodIncreaseDecrease
Advertising expense | 1,717,000 us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense | 1,236,000 us-gaap_AdvertisingExpense
Total reimbursement | 129,000 alot_HealthInsuranceEmployeeReimbursement | 201,000 alot_HealthInsuranceEmployeeReimbursement
Estimated outstanding reimbursements | 20,000 alot_HealthInsuranceReimbursementReserve | 75,000 alot_HealthInsuranceReimbursementReserve
Impairment charges for long-lived assets | 0 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssetsHeldForUse | 0 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssetsHeldForUse
Write-down of asset held for sale | 220,000 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssetsToBeDisposedOf | 779,000 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfLongLivedAssetsToBeDisposedOf
Impairment charges for intangible assets | 0 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfIntangibleAssetsExcludingGoodwill | 0 us-gaap_ImpairmentOfIntangibleAssetsExcludingGoodwill
Number of common equivalent shares | 156,600 us-gaap_AntidilutiveSecuritiesExcludedFromComputationOfEarningsPerShareAmount | 126,800 us-gaap_AntidilutiveSecuritiesExcludedFromComputationOfEarningsPerShareAmount
Compensation expenses is recognized for option forfeited | $ 0 alot_CompensationExpensesOfOptionForfeitedForNotRenderingInRequestedService |
Miltope's Ruggedized Printer Product Line Operation [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Completion date of acquisition | Jan. 22, 2014 |
Land Improvements [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Estimated useful lives of the assets | 20 years |
Land Improvements [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Estimated useful lives of the assets | 10 years |
Building and Improvements [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Estimated useful lives of the assets | 45 years |
Building and Improvements [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Estimated useful lives of the assets | 10 years |
Machinery and Equipment [Member] | Maximum [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Estimated useful lives of the assets | 10 years |
Machinery and Equipment [Member] | Minimum [Member] |  |
Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items] |  |
Estimated useful lives of the assets | 3 years |

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- Definition Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 720 -SubTopic 35 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6420018&loc=d3e36677-107848 + Details
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