Using Saturn as a driver, we are pursuing both photoresonantly pumped and photoionization/recombination lasers. Our lasing targets are gas cells with thin windows that are pumped by a z pinch 2 cm away radiating 10 TW. In both schemes the lasant and gas fill is neon. To increase our chances of measuring the resonantly photopumped lasing transition we have introduced potassium into a sodium z pinch and have eliminated oxygen from the gas cell windows. We have measured the spatial dependence of ionization balance across the gas cell, and this measurement is consistent with propagation of a shock front across the gas cell target. We have measured blue‐shifted satellites to several Li‐like neon transitions that may indicate return‐current driven jetting a high 1.5e8 cm/sec velocity. Using a gold z‐pinch we have shown that keV radiation is necessary to excite the He‐like lines of neon. An attempt at a single shot gain measurement also indicates that radiation is not the only source of gas cell heating.