The story of proper paper happened in what is now the People's Republic of China. Like the indigenous people of Egypt, the Chinese had, nearly five thousand years in the past, created a kind of writing that used pictures. They also had been using various things to write upon, most notably pieces of bamboo and processed silk and possibly the barkcloth they were using for other unconnected purposes derived from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of as well.
Legend tells us that in 105 years after the birth of Christ a government worker by the name of Tsai Lung, developed papyrus, although it is clear from archaeological finds that actually it was in existence in China for at least two hundred years before Tsai Lung.
Way back in ancient times setting down words was usually on some derivative of bamboo or on strips of silk, which were then called ji. Nevertheless the soaring cost of silk and bamboo being too weighty, these materials were inconvenient. Around then Tsai Lun thought of utilizing bark, rags, hemp, and fish nets. In 105AD he submitted a report to the emperor about the production of paper and received high accolade for his thoughts. Consequently, from that period paper has been availed of every place and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If this particular claim is deserved or not, will very likely never be uncovered! Nonetheless the most important consideration is that the discovery was made that if they pounded certain substances taken from plants into a mush, bstract impure materials, float the mush in liquid, screen it onto textile sheets and allow it to dry. When fully dried, it conglomerated into a hard, tenacious sheet that was extremely light, and as long as it did not come into contact with water, turned out to be very robust.
It's a fact that this very easy of paper making techniques is even now still being used in precisely a similar way in Tibet and Nepal, the initial places to pick up the craft from South East Asia. A simple frame utilises a type of cotton cloth pulled and held over one side, watery mache is poured in to the opposite end and spread around until it is smooth. Then it is left hanging somewhere to let the water to drain and the pulp to dry in to a parchment sheet which will be able to be removed.
At some stage a very talented individual figured that making a frame with ribs and placing a delicate removable bamboo mat across it, would enable the procedure to be quickened to a great degree. Rather than utilizing a single mould for every sheet of parchment, severely limiting the amount of sheets that may be manufactured at one time, a stack of sieved paste could be built up layer upon layer, with only a strip of cotton thread between them in order to enable separation at a later time. The stack would then be pressed slightly, and each sheet of grume shifted to a board to dry.