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Cast and HIP'ed (Hot Isostatic Pressing) targets were characterized. The HIP'ed target showed a very fine grain microstructure with no porosity throughout the whole target. The target composition agreed with the starting material composition of TiAl, which consisted of pre-alloyed powders. The cast targets showed shrinkage porosity, and a variation in grain size ranging from fine near the edges to very coarse in the center. Starting materials of Ti and Al were used for the cast target, and its composition differed from TiAl by up to 3%. The gamma-TiAl phase was confirmed for both targets. Cast targets with grain size ranging from fine to very coarse, and the very fine grained HIP'ed target were DC magnetron sputtered in argon. Under the sputtering conditions outlined in this paper, grain size had no influence on sputtering rate, coating structure, density, resistivity or composition of the coatings. Coating densities were proportional to the concentration of Ti and Al in the targets. The coatings were amorphous with very fine morphology, and showed evidence of short range order. Resistivity agreed with values for amorphous TiAl coatings reported in the literature. Al and Ti concentrations in the coatings agreed with the target concentrations when measured on coatings that were deposited by passing the substrate under the target. However, the concentrations of the coatings varied as a function of angle for coatings deposited on a stationary substrate. A higher concentration of Al was deposited below the racetrack, normal to the direction of the target surface. The variation in coating thickness as a function of angle had an approximately cosine squared distribution. The same behavior was seen for both the cast and HIP'ed targets. The data indicate that there was no difference in the thickness distribution of coatings sputtered from either target. Although there were no significant differences in the physical properties of the coatings or deposition parameters from either the cast or HIP'ed targets, the HIP'ed target, using prealloyed powder as the source material, should be more consistent and reliable in producing a specified coating composition. In addition, the HIP'ed target was fully dense, whereas the cast target showed porosity, which can lead to problems with arcing, and gas and water absorption, which can jeopardize the coated product and process.