Studies on the plasma plume created during KrF laser (248 nm) ablation of dosimeter tempera samples in vacuum have been carried out to investigate the basic interactions of the laser with paint materials. Time resolved optical emission spectroscopy (OES) was used to measure the translational velocity of electronically excited transients in the plasma plume. Laser-induced fluorescence (LIF) studies using a probe dye laser, allowed to determine the velocities of non-emitting species. The propagation velocities of C-2 in the a(3)pi(u) and d(3)pi(g), electronic states and of excited atomic species are indicative of a high translational temperature. Differences between the velocities of organic and inorganic species and between emissions from the tempera systems and from the pigments as pellets allow to discuss the participation of photochemical mechanisms in the laser irradiation of the paint systems. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.