Methods for communicating data with a circuit associated with a consumable of a printing apparatus, wherein a signal used to communicate data comprises one of at least two states at an object associated with the signal. For example, one method involves receiving N signals and indicating a state on a signal S that uniquely corresponds to an ordered combination of the states corresponding to M of the objects associated with each of the N signals. At least one of M and N are greater than one, and a circuit associated with a consumable of a printing apparatus can receive the signal S and decode the state of the signal S to determine the ordered combination of the states corresponding to the M of the objects associated with each of the N signals. Also disclosed are consumables of a printing apparatus having a circuit associated with the consumable and data signals associated with the same and related embodiments.