We report on the effect of PET substrate preheating on the characteristics of the flexible and transparent indium tin oxide (ITO) electrode grown by a specially designed roll-to-roll sputtering system for touch panel applications. It was found that electrical and optical properties of the roll-to-roll sputter grown ITO film were critically dependent on the preheating of the PET substrate. In addition, the roll-to-roll sputter-grown ITO film after post annealing test at $140^{circ}C$ for 90 min showed stable electrical and optical properties. The low sheet resistance and high optical transmittance of the ITO film grown on the preheated PET substrate demonstrate that the preheating process before ITO sputtering is one of the effective way to improve the characteristics of ITO/PET film. Furthermore, the superior flexibility of the ITO electrode grown on the preheated PET substrate indicates that the preheating treatment is a promising technique to obtain robust ITO/PET sample for touch panel applications.