The effect of x‐ray radiation and transport on the ablated mass is considered in the computer simulation of laser‐produced plasmas. Two regimes are identified. For times shorter than a critical timet0, the plasma is ‘‘classical,’’ in that the ablated mass computed when radiation effects are included is approximately the same as that when these effects are neglected. For longer times, however, the former is considerably larger than the latter. The dependence oft0on the incident laser intensity and the influence of the laser wavelength and flux limiter used in the simulations are determined.