The origins of proper paper started in China. Like the people of Egypt, the Chinese had, almost fifty centuries in the past, developed a style of writing that used images. The Egyptians also had been utilizing various types of things to write upon, most usually lengths of bamboo and silk woven into a fine fabric and possibly the barkcloth they utilized for other purposes from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of also.
Legend points to the fact that in 105AD an official called Tsai Lung, invented usable paper, though it seems from finds by archaeologists that it was actually around in what is now the People's Republic of China for probably two centuries prior to him.
During ancient times scribing was mainly done on some form of bamboo or occasionally on strips of silk, which were known as Ji in those days. Nevertheless the cost of silk and bamboo being too heavy, these materials were inconvenient. Due to these factors Tsai Lun thought of making use of the bark from trees, fish nets, rags, and hemp. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he submitted a report to the emperor regarding the process of making paper and was endowed with high praise for his abilities. Since then paper has been used every place and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If the above historical tag is deserved, will probably never be uncovered! But the most important factor must be that it was found that if they ground some substances derived from plant material in to a mache, cut out impure substances, place the mache in liquid, screen it onto textile sheets giving it enough time to dry out. When it dried, it calcified into a hard, tough sheet that was extremely light, and provided that it was not allowed to get wet, turned out to be exceedingly robust.
This simplest of paper making technologies is still in use in precisely a similar way around Nepal and Tibet, the initial regions to make use of the techniques from South East Asia. A simple frame has a cotton cloth pulled and held over a single side, thin mash is poured into the opposite side and spread around until it has reached an even state. Then it is left so that it will let the water to leave it and the grume to dry in to a sheet of paper which will be able to be taken off.
There came a time when a very talented individual worked out that building a frame with ribbing and placing a delicate replaceable bamboo mat across this, would allow the procedure to be quickened to a much greater degree. Instead of utilizing one mould for every parchment sheet, therefore severely restricting the amount of sheets that may be made at one time, a stack of sieved mush was able to be built up layer upon layer, with just a piece of cotton thread between them in order to help with later separation. The stack would then be squeezed very slightly, and each sheet of paste shifted to a place to dry.