The history of genuine paper happened in what is now the People's Republic of China. Like the Egyptians, the Chinese had, almost fifty centuries ago, created a kind of writing that used images. The Egyptians also had been making use of various kinds of things to write on, notably lengths of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and possibly the barkcloth they made for other purposes derived from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of too.
Historical documentation leads us to believe that in 105AD a member of the government by the name of Tsai Lung, developed usable paper, though it is almost certain from archaeological discoveries that actually it was being worked with in South East Asia for probably two hundred years before him.
Way back during times gone by setting down words or pictograms was generally on some form of bamboo or on strips of silk, which were then called ji. Nevertheless the great price of silk and bamboo being weighty, these two materials were inconvenient. At this time Tsai Lun came up with the idea of utilizing tree bark, fish nets, hemp, and rags. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he made a report to the emperor with regard to the process of paper manufacture and got much praise for his inventions. From that time paper has been availed of every place and is called the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether the above title is Tsai's entitlement or not, will likely not ever be known! But the most important consideration is that they found that they could pound particular plant-derived substances in to a grume, bstract impurities, float the grume in liquid, sieve it onto textile sheets and allow it to dry. After the drying process was complete, it compressed into a firm, tenacious sheet that was really light, and as long as it did not get wet, proved extremely firm.
This most simple of papermaking technologies is still being used in exactly the same way within Tibet and Nepal, the very first countries to take the craft from China. A simple frame utilises a type of cotton cloth pulled and held over a single side, thin paste is put into the far end and spread around until it is smooth. Then it is left hanging in order for it to enable the water to drain out of it and the mush to dry into a sheet of paper which can be taken off.
It eventually came to pass that a very clever individual worked out that building a frame with ribbing and putting a fine removable bamboo mat across this, would let the procedure to be quickened to a great degree. Rather than using one mould for every parchment sheet, severely limiting the number of sheets that are able to be made at one time, a stack of sieved mash could be built up a layer at a time, with just a strip of cotton thread between them in order to enable separation at a later time. The stack would then be pressed lightly, and each sheet of pulp moved to a dry place.