I just found out that you can't withdraw a designated amount of Bitcoin from paper wallets, you can only sweep or import them.
This seems kind of weird to me. What is the point of a paper wallet if its sole purpose is to later on be swept clean of its coins? If security is an issue, wouldn't it make more sense to have a software bitcoin wallet that runs off an encrypted usb drive?
Paper wallets are used for storing bitcoins in an address that has never been exposed to the internet. It is not necessarily the best way to store bitcoins.
Being on paper means that it is not susceptible to electronic failure or degradation. A properly protected paper wallet has a much longer lifetime than a USB stick or hard disk.
There is also no danger that the device that the keys are stored on becomes obsolete. Imagine that you stored valuable information on an 8 inch floppy disk 30 years ago!