(Let me start by saying I'm not trying to cheap out and buy one of the scary ultra low cost lasers- I already have two CO2 lasers but run into material incompatibilities sometimes. I run my lasers partly for an engineering company that needs very unique materials cut frequently )

Assuming I use the proper safety precautions for these lower wavelength, lower power lasers (in the 200mW-1000mW range) do they offer any particular material capabilities that CO2 lasers don't? As an example, I've needed to cut Kapton film for circuit masking in the past, and CO2 lasers just do a terrible job of it. There's tons of charring and heat damage.

As I understand it the lower frequency lasers cut using a different physical interaction than the CO2 lasers, and I'm wondering if I can accomplish more things if I add a "cheap" visible light laser to my arsenal. There are dozens of 400-500nm laser modules available on eBay. With an actual safe enclosure, what additional materials could I expect to cut or mark with one of those lasers? I'm mainly interested in engineering plastics. PTFE cuts wonderfully with CO2, but PEEK and Kapton elude me.