HP Laserjet 3600N Poor quality prints

[Frackerlini]

OK, so now that I have all new toner, my yellow lines are gone (thank you member repairtrooper).  Now I have this issue to resolve.

I was given an HP Color Laserjet 3600N to take to the dump, but I am trying to get it working reliably before declaring it beyond economic repair... All toner has been replaced which fixed a couple of issues, but I still have this one. (see photos) I frequently get a crinkle/pinch on the paper, usually center bottom. I get uneven toner application, jacked up colors, and ghosting or misaligned text and colors. See photos. Some variation of this and varying severity happens approx 6-8 out 10 times I print something. Every now and then, I get a print that looks fantastic. But it is a crapshoot, and never when you really need it!

how it should look

The attached photos illustrate the issue. The first image above is a photo off of my screen. This is roughly how it is supposed to look.

Do you think that it could be the Fuser? 

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

[Repairatrooper]

Most often we find in our shop that this type of "pinch" defect is due to a fuser that is failing. The fuser is at the top of the machine and is the component that heats the toner to bond it to the paper. There is a hot roller and a pressure roller in there and if you remove the fuser and examine the rollers closely you may see some type of failure.

[Frackerlini]

Thank you repairtrooper!  In looking at the color issues in these photos, do you think that is due to the failing fuser also?

[Repairatrooper]

The fuser simply bonds whatever toner is applied to the page by the rest of the print engine. if the fuser was going to cause an image problem in most cases it would cause a repetitive defect down the page.

I am going to ask the question that everyone hates, OEM HP toner or 3rd party. i ask because it appears that one or more cartridges either has a bad drum unit or toner is not distributed evenly in the cartridge. I would suggest you remove each cartridge and examine the blue/green drum for any defects. Try gently shaking the toner from side to side to see if that temporarily resolves the issue, if it does, replace the affected  cartridge. I would also ask that you print the PQ test quality pages and post those, as they may help narrow down the problem.