I do direct sow with newspaper, when it comes to things like carrots, beets, lettuce what i recommend is cut the newspaper in 4" wide strips (thats the spacing i use between rows) wet the strips and lay where you plan on sowing your seeds ( I usualy do the strips 3-5 thick depending on newsprint sections) allow enough space between the strips to sow your seeds then cover with whatever mulch you plan on using. The only ground that should be exposed is where the seeds are sown. The cutting of the newspaper could be a winter time activity so you spend more time in the garden come spring.

I do it with onion sets, and this spring I'll be trying with onion seed: soak several layers of paper, lay flat on bed, poke bamboo (or whatever) through, insert set/seed.
I can't vouch for the seed yet, but it should work.
I'm sure the same process would work for garlic too.