World’s only de-laminator is made in Kerala

As they say necessity is the mother of all inventions and the world’s only de-laminator is no exception. Chandran Poochakkad who runs the ‘Dubai Duty paid Shop ‘N De-Laminators’ in Thiruvanathapuram holds the rare distinction of being the only person in the world capable of delaminating documents.

Way back in 1996, he came across an unexpected challenge to delaminate the B Tech degree certificate of his best friend for the purpose of getting it attested at the US consulate. Though they frantically searched for help in almost all parts of the country and even the European and Gulf markets, no aid came to them.As he was running out of  time , he had no other option but to take things in his own hands.

He set out on an array of procedures mostly by trial and error methods to remove the thin film of plastic and gum from the surface of the documents without damaging the quality of the paper or the print. After over a month’s efforts he succeeded in removing1 mm of plastic, along with the gum, from a laminated document. From there it was only a matter of time as he was confident that he would be able to use this technique for delaminating even massive documents containing double or multi-layered laminations.

Though many prestigious institutions like Texas University had done research on  de-lamination, the process resulted in the fading of prints in the document. Chandran does not use any chemical methods that might blemish the print. Hand made papers pose a bigger challenge as the uneven surface demands different pressure applications for the removal of the  gum and plastic  without damaging the document.

He does not wish to reveal his trade secret nor has any plans to turn  it into a commercial venture. He is a talented novelist and is more interested in pursuing his passion for writing. His maiden work ‘Adrishyathayude Nizhalukal’ has won the Kairali Sahithyapuraskaran, 2007. The English version of this book, which hit the shelves as ‘Shadows of Invisible’ was also written by him.