Like most types of artwork there are many different types of paper. In the following paragraph I will name the papers for pastels.
For pastel paper there is ingres paper, canson mi-teintes paper, velour paper, sand-grain paper, sansfix paper, and coal paper.
Ingres paper is mold made in Italy. It has a fairly soft suface. This paper is suitable for charcoal and chalk also. ingres paper also has a wide variety of colors.
Canson Mi-Teintes paper is made by machines in France. It has a kind of soft surface. Canson mi-teintes paper also suits pastel drawings, charcoal drawings, and chalk drawings. It's range of colors is very wide.
Velour paper can be known as velvet paper because it has a very soft surface like velvet. You can spoil the softness of the surface by blending pastel colors way too roughly.
Sand-grain paper has a rough surface, which pastel and bold work show up well on it.
Sansfix paper is suited for pastel work. Charcoal paper is used for rough pastel work. Charcoal paper is very thin and fragile.