Among Tech Crowd, the Paper Business Card Endures

Of the many things swept away in the outgoing tide of an increasingly digitized economy, the lowly business card has been an odd and unlikely survivor. At conferences, trade shows and private meetings all over the region, new-wave technology is regularly juxtaposed against the swapping of those old-school communication tools.

Entrepreneurs who must fight to be taken seriously by prospective customers and investors talk about the sense of legitimacy they get from seeing their names and titles printed on quality card stock. They say that in the startup world—where businesses often don't last long—it's nice to hold something...