Paper cuts are very annoying, as they occur whilst one is doing the most mundane jobs, such as filing or opening an envelope or, worst of all, photocopying. Anyone who does any work with paper is aware of how annoying these cuts can be. None of the activities during which paper cuts occur are considered to be high risk or dangerous, which adds to the frustration of cutting oneself on the edge of a piece of paper.

A cut from a sheet of paper is often very deep, so the blood flow will tend to last longer than a minor cut from many other sources. It is also harder to detect a cut at first, so your blood may be transferred to many sheets of paper before you are aware, a few minutes later, of the sting that occurs when the blood tries to clot.

Paper cuts result in many lost man-hours at work; not because of sick leave required to recover from them, but the needless repetition of work that has been ruined by the presence of blood stains.