Pulsed laser materials processing incorporates many physical processes, the modeling of which requires disparate techniques. We focus on two closely related topics that arise in laser processing. First, we illustrate by use of numerical simulation the distinction between metals and ceramics in their response to laser fluence. Second we explain recent experiments that indicate that the substrate heater is a strong control parameter in laser processing, and this can be understood from the point of view of shock dynamics. © 2007 Institute for Scientific Computing and Information.