The story of real paper began in what is now the People's Republic of China. Similar to the indigenous people of Egypt, the Chinese had, almost 5000 years ago, created a type of writing that used images. The Egyptians too had been utilizing various things to scribe upon, most usually lengths of bamboo and woven silk and possibly the barkcloth they utilized for other uses derived from the Paper. Mulberry was used as well.
Legend tells us that in 105AD an official going by the name of Tsai Lung, developed usable paper, though it seems from finds by archaeologists that it was actually being used in China for probably two centuries before him.
Way back in ancient times setting down words or pictograms was generally on some derivative of bamboo or occasionally on strips of silk, which were called Ji in those days. But the prohibitive cost of silk and bamboo being weighty, these materials were inconvenient. Due to this Tsai Lun came up with the idea of using bark from trees, hemp, rags, and fish nets. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he put an idea to the emperor with regard to the process of making paper and got high accolade for his inventions. Consequently, since that time paper has been used globally and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether the above historical tag is Tsai's entitlement, will probably never be known! Nevertheless the major factor has to be that the discovery was made that if they ground some compounds derived from plant matter in to a paste, evacuate impurities, put the paste in water, sieve it out onto fabric sheets giving it time to dry. After the drying process was complete, it conglomerated into a firm, robust sheet that was remarkably light, and as long as it was not allowed to get damp, turned out to be really tough.
It's a fact that this very simple of papermaking technologies is still being used in exactly a similar way within Tibet and Nepal, the first countries to take the technolgies from South East Asia. A basic frame utilises a type of cotton cloth made to stretch over a side, thin grume is put into the other end and spread around until it has reached a level. Then it is suspended somewhere to enable the liquid to leave it and the mush to dry in to a parchment sheet which will be able to be stripped off.
By and by a clever developer figured that building a frame with an arrangement of ribbing and putting a delicate bamboo mat that is replaceable across it, would let the paper-making procedure to be speeded up to a much greater degree. Rather than using one mold for each paper sheet, therefore severely restricting the amount of sheets that may be made at the same time, a stack of sieved mache was able to be built up layer upon layer, with only a strip of cotton thread between them in order to facilitate later separation. The stack would then be pressed gently, and every sheet of mash transferred to a place to dry.