The origins of genuine paper happened in South East Asia. Like the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, almost 5000 years in the past, developed a pictographic form of writing. The Egyptians too had been making use of various kinds of things to scribe on, most notably strips of bamboo and woven silk and possibly the barkcloth they used for other unconnected purposes from the Paper. Mulberry was used as well.
History tells us that in 105 years after the birth of Christ an official named Tsai Lung, brought out papyrus, though it appears from archaeological discoveries that actually it was being worked with in what is now the People's Republic of China for more than likely two centuries before him.
Way back during ancient times gone by setting down words or pictograms was usually on some form of bamboo or sometimes on pieces of silk, which were known as Ji then. Nonetheless silk was expensive and bamboo being heavy, these materials were not of great use. Then Tsai Lun thought of utilizing bark, hemp, fish nets, and rags. In 105AD he submitted a report to the emperor with regard to the production of paper and got high accolade for his abilities. Since then paper has been availed of in almost every place on earth and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
Whether this historical reference is deserved, will very likely not ever be known! Nevertheless the important consideration must be that they discovered that if they pounded some compounds taken from plant matter into a mash, bstract impure materials, put the mash in liquid, sieve it onto textile sheets giving it enough time to dry out. After the drying process was complete, it dried into a firm, firm sheet that was exceedingly light, and as long as it did not get damp or wet, turned out to be particularly dense.
This most simple of paper making technologies is still practised in exactly the same way in and around Tibet and Nepal, the very first countries to make use of the techniques from China. A basic frame utilizes a cloth made from cotton pulled and held over a single side, diluted mache is emptied in to the far end and moved around until it is level. Then it is left hanging somewhere to allow the water to drain out of it and the paste to dry in to a parchment sheet which will be able to be taken off.
At some stage a very talented individual came to the conclusion that building a frame with ribbing and putting a fine removable bamboo mat across it, would let the paper-making procedure to be quickened fantastically. Instead of utilizing a single mold for every paper sheet, therefore severely limiting the amount of sheets that are able to be produced at the same time, a stack of sieved mush could be built up a layer at a time, with just a strip of cotton thread between them to help with later separation. The stack would then be squeezed gently, and each sheet of pulp shifted to a dry place.