Sizing while creating a model destined to be printed

Hey!

I'm fairly new to 3D Printing; while I have modeled things with 3DS Max and ZBrush for 2 years now, I've only recently read about printing. I've worked through the FAQ of r/3dprinting and also read a lot on 3dhubs, especially about the filaments and what design rules to apply.

For example, for text to be able to correctly stick out of the model, a minimum height of 4mm is recommended - now what I'm asking myself is how I determine something like that in 3DS Max. I know the base plane has a grid whose size and unit you can change in the settings, but I don't know how I would find out the accurate millimeters of text sticking out of a horizontal surface. Finding out the exact height of details like that seems to be really important to make sure the details are properly printed, so I definitely want to learn how.

Additionally, there are lots of recommendations about modeling software specifically for printing or CAD in general, is there a good one you can recommend for a beginner that is better for printing than 3DS Max, that for example makes checking for size and detail height, model being hollow or not etc. easier?