collator vs sorter

collator and sorter both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
collator	Yes	No	No	No
sorter	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, sorter is a hypernym of collator; that is, sorter is a word with a broader meaning than collator:

collator: a machine that selects, merges and matches decks of punch cards.
sorter: a machine for sorting things (such as punched cards or letters) into classes

Other hypernyms of collator include tabulating machine, tabulator.

collator (noun)	sorter (noun)
a machine that selects, merges and matches decks of punch cards.	a machine for sorting things (such as punched cards or letters) into classes
	a clerk who sorts things (as letters at the post office)