A double shell z-pinch with an axial magnetic field is considered as a K-shell plasma radiation source. One-dimensional radiation-hydrodynamics calculations performed suggest that this scheme holds promise for the production of the K-shell radiation of krypton (hν ≈ 12–17 keV). As a first step in verifying the advantages of this scheme, experiments have been performed to optimize a neon double-shell gas puff with an axial magnetic yield for the K-shell yield and power. The experiments show that the application of an axial magnetic field makes it possible to increase the K-shell radiation power and reduce the shot-to-shot spread in the K-shell yield. Comparisons between the experiments and modeling are made and show good agreement.