The history of real paper started in what is now the People's Republic of China. Similar to the indigenous people of Egypt, the Chinese had, virtually 5000 years in the past, created a pictographic form of writing. The Egyptians also had been making use of several types of objects to write upon, most notably strips of bamboo and processed silk and possibly the barkcloth they utilized for other reasons derived from the Paper. Mulberry was made use of too.
Historical documentation points to the fact that in 105AD an official named Tsai Lung, brought out papyrus, though it is clear from archaeological digs that it was in fact around in China for more than likely two centuries prior to him.
Back in ancient times gone by writing was mainly done on some form of bamboo or on pieces of silk, which were then called ji. Nonetheless the cost of silk and bamboo being heavy, these materials were inconvenient. At this time Tsai Lun came up with the idea of utilizing bark from trees, rags, fish nets, and hemp. In 105 years after the birth of Christ he put an idea to the emperor with regard to the process of making paper and was endowed with high accolade for his ideas. From that time paper has been used globally and is known as the "paper of Marquis Tsai".
If indeed this title is relevant or not, will likely never be uncovered! But the most important thing must be that it was discovered that they could grind certain substances taken from plants into a mash, take away impurities, float the mash in water, screen it onto fabric sheets giving it time to dry. After drying, it calcified into a firm, tenacious sheet that was astonishingly light, and as long as it did not get damp or wet, turned out to be really firm.
It's a fact that this simple of paper making technologies is even now practised in precisely a similar way in and around Tibet and Nepal, the initial areas to learn the techniques from South East Asia. A basic frame utilises a kind of cotton cloth made to stretch over a side, watery mache is put in to the other end and spread around until it has reached an even state. It is then left hanging in order for it to let the liquid to leave it and the mush to dry in to a sheet of paper which can be removed.
It eventually came to pass that a developer with great skills came to the conclusion that making a frame with an arrangement of ribbing and placing a delicate removable bamboo mat across this, would allow the process to be speeded up fantastically. Instead of using one mould for every sheet of parchment, therefore severely limiting the number of sheets that could be made at the same time, a stack of sieved paste could be built up layer upon layer, with merely a piece of cotton thread between them in order to facilitate separation at a later time. The stack would then be squeezed very lightly, and each sheet of grume transferred to a board to dry.