A range of indium tin oxide (ITO) films were deposited on glass substrates at room temperature using reactive de sputtering. The coatings were deposited in an Ar/O-2 plasma, and their appearance immediately after deposition ranged from mirror-like to brown to clear. The chemical and physical properties of each of these films were benchmarked with a battery of analytical tools including XPS, Auger, XRD, resistance and thickness measurements. The impact of annealing on the films was also studied. Annealing the films tends to convert all coatings to transparent conductive layers due to oxidation reactions. Film resistance was also found to decrease with annealing. The chemical phenomena responsible for these characteristics are discussed.